Mind Games
by missehri
Summary: Kudo Shinichi returned to his life. Haibara Ai continued hers. Out of everything he has witnessed, how could a natural thing as puberty shock Kudo Shinichi?
1. Chapter 1

Kudo Shinichi. 23 years old.

Intelligent. Athletic. Sociable. Eloquent. Attractive. A combination of attributes that give rise to a rather arrogant personality. With so much under his belt before reaching his twenties, the takedown of the Black Organization being his greatest accomplishment, nobody would deny that Kudo Shinichi has every reason to be conceited.

Although arrogant as Shinichi was, he was not narcissistic nor was he humble. He did not flaunt his accolades or skills but did not hide them either. He did not seek praises but gladly accepted them should they come his way. He reveled the attention but did not mind if the spotlight was not on him. For everything that Kudo Shinichi was and has done, it was no surprise that many adored the young detective.

With the media constantly on him and his ever-growing fanbase consistently posting about him on social media, Shinichi has developed numerous nicknames. Aside from the nicknames he has been called from the people around him (i.e. "Detective of the East," "Cool Guy," "Silver Bullet," "Heisei Holmes," etc.), Shinichi has often been referred to as: "The hot detective" as given mostly by female teens and young women, "Tokyo's Grim Reaper" by the criminals the famous detective placed behind bars and, quite amusingly, soccer fans in reference to his skills on the field, "Japan's Holmes" by foreign media and fans (which was one of his favorites), and many more. His absolute favorite, however, was given by males around his age: "The Lucky Bastard."

Granted, that probably was not meant to be a nickname, but it stuck. And Kudo Shinichi loved the connotation it has. The nickname acknowledged all his attributes and accomplishments as well as hinted at the envy by its users. Most importantly, it was first given when one of his dates with Ran went viral. If there was anything that Kudo Shinichi did not hide, it was his relationship with his childhood friend and first love. Not many were blessed with a love so pure and sweet as his with Ran. With the love of his life reciprocating his feelings, famous doting parents that give him the freedom to live his life however he wanted, the adoration and respect of the government, the admiration and affection of the community, and the fear of criminals, what did Kudo Shinichi not have?

"The Lucky Bastard" aptly suited him, and he will never deny that.

However, with all the requests from the government and detective agency to aid in their cases, media seeking a word or two, constant soccer recruits knocking on his door, as well as invitations to hang out with friends, Shinichi rarely had time to even bask in all the attention he was getting.

"You're going to break," said thirteen-year-old Haibara Ai to twenty-year-old Kudo Shinichi one day when he visited the professor with the free hour he had before his date with Ran.

Sitting at the breakfast counter, he turned his head to look at her. She sat on the living room couch, nonchalantly flipping though a fashion magazine before she lifted her gaze to glance at him. Turquoise-gray regarded icy blue for one second. Another second and she was back to her magazine.

Ever since Ai presented him with the final antidote to the APTX-4869 three years prior, Shinichi had hardly been in contact with the female before him despite her living just next door. His attention as Kudo Shinichi was wanted by everyone that anyone he knew as Edogawa Conan faded into the background.

It was agreed by the FBI, Shiho, and those involved that the APTX-4869 should never reach public attention despite its creator completing the drug to perfection. If the public ever got wind that de-aging was a possibility, havoc would break out. Humans were never meant to play gods, even though Shiho created that possibility. As such, Shinichi was unable to combine his life with Conan's. Kudo Shinichi and Edogawa Conan were to remain separate entities. Thus, reintroductions happened quite often in Shinichi's life, the most aggravating introduction being with the girl before him as he refused to let the Detective Boys fade with Edogawa Conan.

Ai was one of the very few people that existed in both Conan's and Shinichi's life, but it was for the sake of the Detective Boys that he was introduced to Haibara Ai. Before heading out for a planned weekend activity of camping, he had extended his hand to her and she had arched a brow at him before turning her head and walking off towards the vehicle. Ayumi's and Mitsuhiko's excuse for her being shy did nothing to ease his twitching eyebrow as he watched her sit in the front passenger seat, a haughty smirk on her child-like face.

Thoroughly annoyed, he opened the passenger's door that she just closed. "Children should sit in the back, _Ai-chan_ ," came Shinichi, an arrogant grin on his face, which only grew when she glared at him for the way he addressed her. He then unbuckled her seatbelt, easily lifted her off the seat before sitting himself down, and settled her on his lap. "But you can sit with me," he spoke and fastened the seatbelt. He never saw the blush on her face.

It's been three years since then and that was the last time he had done anything with the Detective Boys. Despite being his neighbor, the only time Shinichi saw Ai was through his opened curtains as she left for school. He suddenly missed the kids and regretted not visiting the Professor more often. With that in mind, he brought up the idea of having another camping trip to the Professor. It was scheduled for the following weekend but fell through when Shinichi came down with a cold.

"Save your 'I told you so'," Shinichi said, his voice hoarse, as Ai placed a hand on his forehead. She simply arched a brow at him as he pulled the covers over himself. Shinichi watched as the young girl quietly left his room only to come back with a tray holding a glass of water, cold medicine, a hand towel, and a bowl of cold water.

"I had the professor call Mouri-san already. She'll be here in a few minutes to make you something to eat and take care of you. In the meantime, take this medicine and place this towel over your head," she said as she wrung the towel over the bowl.

"Thanks, Haibara," Shinichi spoke, feeling the cold damp towel before letting the cold pull him to sleep. When he finally awoke, Ran was by his bed, full of worry, and Shinichi made a promise to not overwork himself anymore. Nothing pained him more than seeing Ran worry over him.

The next three years came and went as he and Ran attended college. Nothing was on his mind except Ran and education, living out his youth as properly as he could, knowing how important it was to experience everything life had to offer. During those three years, it was only natural his and Ran's relationship advanced. However, they never went further than heavy petting and passionate kissing. Having watched her parents, Ran did not want the same thing to happen to her and Shinichi. She requested they wait until marriage, and Shinichi respected it, albeit it took Shinichi a great amount of restraint to stop after heavy make-out sessions. Their relationship was nothing if not stronger.

Shinichi had graduated a year ahead of Ran with a degree in criminal justice. After a long talk about their future, it was decided that he return to Tokyo to take up the offer with the FBI while Ran stayed in America to finish her degree in physical therapy. One of the first things he did upon returning to Tokyo was to drop by his neighbor's house.

As always, the professor welcomed him warmly. Among all the changes that happened in his life upon entering adulthood, he was grateful that there were certain things that never changed. His friendships were one of them.

"Long time no see, Hakase," said Shinichi after hugging the older man at the door. "I see Haibara's diet was somewhat successful," he said, noticing the professor lost some weight. He followed the professor deeper into the threshold and a smile grew as he looked around the estate. It was as he last remembered it. The position of the furniture, the color of the paint, even the smell of machines in the air was nostalgic.

The professor chuckled in response. "She has been strict of what goes on my plate," he acknowledged. Noticing Shinichi was glancing around as if looking for someone, the professor answered his unasked question, "Ai-kun should be back any minute."

"Buying something for dinner?" Shinichi questioned, glancing at the time. He took a seat at the breakfast counter and watched as the professor filled a kettle with water.

The professor shook his head as he placed the kettle on the stove and turned the burner on. "She's out with Hiro-kun right now," he answered before taking two mugs out from the cupboard. After a second thought, he took out two more.

"Hiro-kun?" Shinichi repeated. "A friend?" he inquired, surprised but pleased that Ai was making new friends.

The professor nodded as he began filling each mug with tea leaves. "You could say that," he replied rendering Shinichi confused by the response. It was either he is or isn't. Suddenly, a motorcycle was heard, catching the attention of the guest, who quirked a brow at the unusual sound associated with the professor's house. "That should be them."

Curious, Shinichi stood up and approached the window. With the evening sun, Shinichi was barely able to make two silhouettes wearing helmets on a red motorbike pull up outside the gate. He watched as the passenger released her hold of the driver and swung her leg to get off the motorcycle. When she took off her helmet, a sudden shock overcame Shinichi. He didn't know why, but he was somewhat expecting a child Haibara Ai to appear, which was absolute foolish once he thought about it.

Three years had passed since he last saw her at the age of thirteen. Even then, he noticed that her features were starting to mature from her ten-year-old self. At the age of sixteen, of course she should look different to her child version. Out of everything he has witnessed, how could a natural thing as puberty shock Kudo Shinichi?

That wasn't the only thing he found surprising as he watched the scene unfold before him. The driver of the motorcycle then took off his helmet, revealing a rather handsome male teenager. He watched as the two adolescents talked for a couple of minutes before he saw the boy lean up and Ai met him halfway in an anything-but-innocent kiss that made Shinichi finally turn away and leave the window.

For the first time, Shinichi wondered if he had been too absorbed in his college life with Ran to pay any attention to his friends. What happened within the last three years?

Professor Agase raised his brows as Shinichi quickly reclaimed his seat by the breakfast counter just as the front door opened. Shinichi ignored his inquisitive look.

"Do we have a guest, Hakase?" came Ai's voice from the foyer as she neatly placed her shoes together before slipping on her house slippers.

Shinichi noted the subtle drop in her voice that sounded honey-like. It wasn't the first time he spoke to a teenage Ai as he had previously conversed with Miyano Shiho, but he couldn't help but noticed the change. She emerged from the threshold and Shinichi took in her full appearance as she slung off her jacket and hung it on the coat rack.

She was just two years shy from her previous life's age before the effects of the APTX-4869 replaced Miyano Shiho with Haibara Ai. Her face slimmed from the round child-like face he was so used to seeing, revealing a slender jaw. Her hair that was shoulder length was slightly longer and tied back into a ponytail. Her figure matured into that of a young woman's with a tiny waste and curved hips that were accentuated by skinny jeans. Seeing her in teenage form should be nothing new, but why was he so enthralled by her appearance now?

"Kudo-kun," Ai spoke, finally noticing his presence. Out of all the possible people to be visiting, Kudo Shinichi did not cross her mind. So the look of surprise on her face should be a given, but it only lasted for a second before her usual smirk graced her features.

It was then that Shinichi smiled as the look she gave him did not change despite everything else about her. "Been awhile, Haibara," he responded.

"Try three years," she replied with a light humor as she took over the chore of making tea and motioned for the professor to take a seat. "How was America?" she questioned Shinichi. Noticing four cups, Ai momentarily regarded the professor with a shake of her head. "Hiro has evening training today," she said before Shinichi could reply to her question.

Shinichi arched a brow at the statement. He had wondered who the fourth cup was for when the professor took it out, and it appears this Hiro-kun has often had tea in the professor's house before.

"America?" Ai prompted after clearing the extra mug. She lifted her eyes to glance at him and Shinichi noted there was more gray in her irises.

"It was great," he answered and proceeded to talk about his educational adventures at Harvard. "Thank you," he briefly broke from his story to say as Ai placed his cup of tea before him. He took a sip and paused. The tea was perfect, but he didn't recall her asking how he wanted his tea. Something about her remembering how he liked his tea with one sugar and a splash of milk oddly warmed his heart, as well as made it ache in guilt.

Ai nodded in return before leaning over the countertop across Shinichi and the professor and brought her own cup to her lips. "Congratulations, Kudo-kun," she praised after he finished his overview of the past three years.

"Yes, congratulations, Shinichi," the professor chimed in to which Shinichi thanked both of them in response.

Ai walked over to where her apron hung. Draping it over her head, she turned to Shinichi. "Will you be having dinner with us or do you and Mouri-san have plans?" she inquired, tying her apron behind her.

Shinichi shook his head. "Ran is still in America, finishing her degree. She still has a year and a half left."

Ai nodded in understanding. "Then, I'll be cooking for three tonight," she spoke, more to herself.

The professor excused himself to his lab as he had a deadline for a new invention, leaving Ai and Shinichi in the kitchen. Shinichi's eyes followed Ai as she walked back and forth, taking ingredients and placing them back. "How are the kids?" he questioned, slightly feeling awkward with nothing to do, although he didn't know why.

Ai momentarily regarded him with a glance, a soft smile forming on her slender face. "Fine," she answered with an endearing tone as she thought of the kids. "Ayumi-chan grew beautifully. Tsuburaya-kun and Genta-kun have their job filled with keeping the boys away. It's given that she became StuCo President with her kind personality. Tsuburaya-kun became the vice president, helping her with everything. He's also the president of the science and math clubs. Genta-kun is captain of the judo and wrestling clubs. The kids grew up well, as expected."

Shinichi nodded, listening. He was glad and proud, knowing of their accomplishments. As Ai mentioned, he expected nothing less from the Detective Boys. He knew more than anyone how smart the kids are. "And you?" he asked. He never questioned why Ai did not take the antidote six years ago. The answer was easily inferable, given the young scientist's life. But with her new life, he wondered how things have fared for her. "How are you, Haibara?"

The said girl stopped chopping the beef and lifted her head to fully look at the young man sitting in front of her. She stared at him for a long while that almost made Shinichi wished he hadn't asked that question. He searched her eyes and found her expression unreadable, which was strange when he recalled how he could understand her when they were both children, words said or not. And just before he could change the subject to release the awkward silence, she resumed chopping. "I'm fine," she easily answered.

When she didn't continue any further, Shinichi scoffed in slight amusement. Of course, that was all he got. He would've been surprised if she said anything more when asked about her life. Still as secretive and aloof as ever, which pleased him to know rather than irritated him.

Shinichi readied the table as Ai finished dinner. With three years of no communication, Shinichi thought he would have tons of things to catch up with Ai, but their conversations were all rather curt. He didn't mind the silence before. As Conan, silence was a comfortable form of understanding between him and Ai, but now… it seemed to emphasize that Kudo Shinichi and Haibara Ai were not on the same wave-length. But how could that be when he and Conan were one and the same?

Noticing Ai tiptoeing to reach for a serving plate on the top shelf of the cupboard, Shinichi strode behind her and offered his assistance. "Thank you," she expressed and turned around to take the plate from him, not realizing how close he was behind her and was taken aback when he had yet to move away.

Shinichi looked down at the smaller girl before him as he towered over her. She was a good foot shorter than him. The last time he looked at her this closely, he had to crouch down to her level. Now, he only had to lean down. Her eyes were really grayer with specks of blue and light green splattered across, he noted, and quite softer than he last remembered. Her nose was cute and pert. His eyes traveled lower to her lips and he was aware of how perfectly full they were. Suddenly, the image of her kissing this Hiro-kun quickly flashed through his mind, and he immediately stepped away from her.

He moved back too suddenly as if he was only now aware of how close they were, causing Ai to furrow her brows at him. They've been close often times before as they needed to whisper to each other, not wanting others to overhear, or sat next to each other in the car on numerous occasions. Ai was used to the proximity just not the staring.

Before she could question if he was okay, Shinichi's phone rang. "It's Ran," he said, hearing the ringtone he specified for her coming from his pocket. "Excuse me for a moment." He saw Ai nod before he left the kitchen to take the call.

After a peaceful dinner with some catching up on the progress of the professor's inventions, Shinichi returned to his house with a strong feeling of regret he knew was associated with Ai. It wasn't until a week later when Shinichi came home that he realized what exactly it was that he regretted.

Pulling up at his front gate in his Bentley, Shinichi paused before exiting his vehicle as Ai had caught his attention. Specifically speaking, Ai with her friend, Hiro-kun, as the former leaned back on the front gate of his neighbor's house with the latter leaning over her, the two teenagers locked at the mouths.

Shinichi found it rather strange for Ai to be intimate with someone on such a physical level, at least enough to show such PDA, and it finally occurred to him why he was so awestruck of her teenage appearance. He hadn't watched her grow. Haibara Ai knew so much about both Edogawa Conan and Kudo Shinichi, and he always thought he knew about her. However, the shock of seeing her as a teenager made him aware that time had passed, and contrary to what he initially thought, he really knew nothing of how Ai had lived her new life. He didn't know who she was aside from Miyano Shiho, genius scientist with a tragic past, hiding from the Black Organization. Aside from her interest in fashion, her affection for animals, and admiration of Higo Ryusuke, Shinichi knew nothing of the current Ai, a normal teenager.


	2. Chapter 2

Haibara Ai. 16 years old, physically. 24 years old, mentally.

Genius. Considerate. Reserved. Sarcastic. Beautiful. A combination of attributes that would give rise to a highly-confident female. With godlike inventions under her belt as the creator of the APTX-4869 and its antidote, there was no one who would deny that she deserved every admiration and fear sent her way. She made her stamp in history before ever reaching her twenties. If not for the concern of the public and the possible misuse of her creation should it fall into the wrong hands, Miyano Shiho would be buried under peace prizes, medals, and interviews for her great contribution in the science field.

But she didn't want any of that. Her life as Miyano Shiho was nothing but tragic. So, she continued her life as Haibara Ai, going through the throes of puberty a second time, trying to live life how it was meant to be lived: peaceful with juvenile concerns of love and heartbreak. She had only created a handful of antidotes for those affected by the poison, the first antidote going to its first victim and her savior: Kudo Shinichi.

Finally, she was able to give him what he desired most: his old life back. She would forever feel apologetic for that one year of his life she robbed him of when she created the APTX-4869. No matter what she did, she knew she would never be able to repay him. The best and only way she could think of was to let her feelings for the young detective go, but even that wouldn't be enough to show her appreciation towards him.

So when Edogawa Conan disappeared from the Detective Boys' life in a sorrowful parting with promises to keep in touch and Kudo Shinichi becoming too busy, juggling his life in the limelight and his college life with his first love, to keep such promise, Ai thought she would do him a favor and keep his promise for him for a year or two until the long-distance naturally took over and Edogawa Conan and the Detective Boys fell out of contact as they led separate lives, childhood adventures becoming important fond memories.

Since the takedown of the Black Organization and her tormentors finally behind bars, Ai tried to live life as normally as she could. She didn't express her superior intellect in school nor did she let her grades go too far down that the teachers would notice. Although it was second nature for her reserved behavior, Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta managed well to lessen her icy façade, making her more approachable to the student body. She truly enjoyed the mundane school-life she currently led.

However, despite her friendship with the Detective Boys, which she appreciated whole-heartedly, some part of her always felt lonely, and she couldn't fathom why. It wasn't until she met Tachibana Hiro that that loneliness she felt somewhat lessened.

It was the beginning of the current school year. Tachibana Hiro had just transferred in and the entire class was instantly all over him. Anyone good-looking with physical prowess would gain the attention of those around him.

"I didn't get yours," he had responded one day after she pointed that out to him.

They were on class duty for the week and stayed after school to finish the logbook. Hiro and Ai were the only ones in the classroom with the evening sun casting an orange filter to their surroundings and the sound of the baseball club practicing faintly heard in the distance. She paused writing in the logbook to look at him, and he lifted his eyes to look at her, expression so serious that it almost made her teenage heart skip a beat.

She arched a brow at him and left him alone in the classroom.

For the first time ever, Ai cursed the Detective Boys' willingness and eagerness to befriend any new person. As she entered the clubroom, she saw Tachibana Hiro sitting at the center table, Sherlock Holmes book in hand. He looked up at her entrance. "Hello, Ai," he greeted with that charming grin of his she knew most girls loved. She closed the door, deciding to skip club activities altogether, even though she was the club president.

"Ai-chan," Ayumi lightly chastised when she refused to take Hiro's application form the next day. And so, with the encouragement from the kids, Ai was forced to accept Hiro's application as a new member of the Detective Club.

Ai found comfort in the everyday routine she has done for the past six years. What would be boring to many was oddly soothing to her. She even found peace in the complaints of her classmates about the upcoming school festival, which reminded her that she needed to talk to Shinichi on behalf of the Detective Club.

It has been a month since Shinichi returned from America. When she saw him sitting at the breakfast counter that one evening, she was admittedly stunned. After Shinichi returned to his old life, she never expected him to keep in contact nor was she upset that he didn't. But suddenly seeing him in her home brought about a nostalgia that undeniably made her heart ache.

She took in his appearance as he nonchalantly sat across the professor. Despite sitting, he looked taller from when she last saw him, albeit she was shorter herself. But when he easily grabbed the serving dish on the top shelf for her, she was fully aware of their height difference. Although it lessened a little over time, she still had to angle her head upwards to look into his eyes that reminded her of a winter's night.

His shoulders were broader, she observed. His Adam's apple was distinct and his jaw well-defined. They were so close that when she inhaled, she could smell a deep, musky, fragrant that made her aware that Kudo Shinichi was very much a man. For a mere second, she didn't mind getting lost in his scent, but just as quickly, she shook that thought from her head.

Not that she minded it, but Ai noticed her neighbor's visits were increasing by the week. He also seemed to be staring at her quite often lately. Feeling uncomfortable under his scrutiny, she tried to relieve it with humor. "You're staring, Kudo-kun. Am I that beautiful?" she asked with an air of narcissism as he watched her cook dinner.

She expected him to scoff at her vain question, or retort with a cheesy statement like "not as near beautiful as Ran," or _something else_. She didn't expect him to agree to the question.

"Yeah, Ai, you are."

Ai fought with tremendous strength not to blush at his words or the way he said it as if he was looking at a painting, his voice soft and pensive. With her entire will focused on keeping the blush at bay, Ai was unable to reflect on the fact he used her first name. Since then, she noticed he only addressed her as "Ai" and things were getting increasingly uncomfortable around him.

With the school festival next week, Ai needed to talk to Shinichi as soon as possible. So, she made a mental note to especially invite him over for dinner today. Needing ingredients for tonight's menu, she placed on her jacket to head to the store. As she exited the front gate, she saw Shinichi pull up.

"Supermarket?" he questioned, noticing she was underdressed for a date.

Ai nodded and wrapped her jacket around her as a cold chill went past her. She saw Shinichi nod to the passenger's seat. "Get in. I'll take you there."

With no sound reason to refuse him, she entered his vehicle. Looking at its interior, Ai couldn't help but comment on his rather mannish taste. He simply lightly chuckled in amusement as he drove towards the nearby supermarket. It was rather short drive as the store was just around the corner. Ai expected him to wait in the vehicle, so she was surprised when he alighted with her.

"What's for dinner?" he asked as he grabbed a basket before following her though the aisles.

"Curry," she answered, and Shinichi was instantly reminded of all the times he ate curry with the Detective Boys and Ai at the professor's house.

"Brings back memories," he spoke, eyes scanning the ingredients she placed in the basket.

At that, Ai couldn't help but release a solemn smile as the same memories surfaced her mind. "They're coming over tonight. You'll be joining us, right?" she inquired and turned to look at him in the middle of the aisle.

Shinichi paused to stare back at her, her eyes held a hopeful eagerness that he knew wasn't meant towards his answer to her invite. He nodded nonetheless, and she offered a small smile in response.

"You smile often now," he commented, observingly.

Ai dropped the smile on her face as if she was just caught doing something wrong. After a moment, she asked, "Do I?"

Shinichi nodded and, in turn, smiled at her. "That means you made the right decision."

Ai never thought of it that way. In fact, she never contemplated on whether staying as Haibara Ai was right or wrong. She just didn't see a reason to be Miyano Shiho any longer. If Kudo Shinichi commented that, then at least she knew she was living her life well.

He continued to follow her down the aisles until she stopped by the curry spices. He was surprised to see her pick up one very spicy-flavored curry package. From what he knew, the kids did not like spiciness all that much. Noticing his furrowed brows, she answered, "Hiro prefers spicy curry."

That made Shinichi pause. "He's joining us?"

Ai nodded, turning to him since he stopped walking. "He's part of the Detective Club," she answered and later questioned, "Is that not okay?"

It was a rhetorical question on Ai's part. After all, who was he to comment about a member of some high school club? But before he could respond to Ai's question, a loud piercing scream was heard within the supermarket. One quick look at each other and Shinichi and Ai both sprang into action.

"Ai, the doors," was all he said before Ai nodded, dashing towards the entrance to prevent anyone from leaving, while he ran towards the source of the scream.

Several minutes later, when things calmed down a bit, the crime scene sectioned off, and the supermarket doors closed shut and monitored, Ai made her way back to Shinichi, who wore a very familiar contemplative look that she couldn't help but smile at.

Noticing her presence, Shinichi lowered his hand from his chin. "What?" he questioned, seeing the amused smirk on her face.

"Still attracting dead bodies, Kudo-kun?" she returned with a raised brow, causing Shinichi to shake his head and laugh at the memories. He hasn't heard her say that in years. "So what's the situation?" she asked with a serious air, and Shinichi began going over the scene and clues he came across.

"Poison?" Ai questioned shocked, looking at the table filled with small paper cups holding free samples of a gelatin dessert. "Were they intending to poison random people?"

Shinichi shook his head. "They were specifically after the victim," he said, his face darkening in concentration.

"And were trying to frame the employee," she added with Shinichi nodding in affirmation.

"According to witnesses, those three with the police are the prime suspects as they were near the table before the victim fell." Ai followed Shinichi's gesture and saw a round woman with her hair in a tight bun, a slim middle-aged woman with a bob haircut, and an older businessman.

Knowing and observing Shinichi, she knew what he was contemplating. "Who has the least suspicious story?" Ai questioned, knowing that was their criminal, which made Shinichi smile.

Thirty minutes later, the crime was solved and the criminal caught. "Another one under your belt," Ai commented as they alighted from the vehicle and walked towards the professor's gate, groceries in hand. "With so much death around you, I seriously wonder on the safety of my life."

Shinichi arched a brow at her statement. "Says the person who created a drug that can alter a person's life," he retorted, and Ai had to smirk in response, her look reminding him of many instances in the past. Then, it fully dawned on him. If today was any indication, he wasn't aware of just how much he missed this, of just how much he missed the verbal banter between him and Ai, of just how much he missed Ai.

Every time he looked at her teenage features, he was reminded that he was the one that left and broke contact. He was the one that didn't bother popping in during the last three years. He was the one that purposefully forgot about Edogawa Conan and his friendships.

Although Haibara Ai was present in both Edogawa Conan and Kudo Shinichi's lives, it was Conan whom she constantly talked to, not Shinichi. It was Conan she constantly bantered with. It was Conan that she purposefully aggravated and mocked. Suddenly, he was fully aware of how different Conan and Shinichi's lives were. Why couldn't he maintain both simply as Kudo Shinichi?

Because Ai chose to stay as Haibara Ai, he answered. Where they're at in their current paths didn't allow for them to cross. Despite her actual age, she was a teenager in society's eyes and he a young adult.

"But you're not actually a teenager," he said aloud to her, causing Ai to pause and crease her brows in confusion at the random comment.

He let his eyes rake over her appearance. She may physically be 16 years old, but her aura, speech, and mannerisms were not. The way she carried herself was that of a young adult who saw too much death and tragedy in her life. No miracle drug can erase that. Anyone who fully looked at her could tell she wasn't just a 16-year-old.

And then his eyes caught it. They caught the slight red and purplish mark on her neck peeking out from the collar of her jacket.

Groceries falling to the ground, Ai was taken by surprised when Shinichi grabbed her wrist to pull her closer in order to move her jacket off her shoulder. "Kudo-kun?"

There on Ai's neck was a kiss mark. A sign that stupid teenagers didn't know how to control their stupid hormones. He suddenly remembered her make-out session with her boyfriend in broad daylight in the middle of the street.

 _He debated on whether he should wait it out or risk ruining their mood the instant he opened his door. However, his eternal debate was short-lived when he noticed the hormonal male teenager slip his hand under Ai's skirt. Shinichi immediately alighted from his vehicle and slammed his car door a bit too harshly. He saw Ai instantly push the boy off her and turned her head away from his view, although he could still see the red hue on her neck._

 _Finally getting a hold of himself, Hiro became awestruck when he realized the famous detective was before his eyes. "Kudo Shinichi, Japan's Holmes," spoke the male teen before introducing himself. "Tachibana Hiro," the younger boy said as he stuck out his hand, and Shinichi let his gaze slide from Ai to the male teen._

 _He was quite striking, Shinichi noted. He had light brown hair, a straight nose, thin lips with a square-defined jaw. His eyes were a deep green. He was of mixed blood, English and Japanese descent. The young teen possessed a well-toned body. Assessing his toned leg and arm muscles, Shinichi gathered he was a swimmer, and, from the rope bracelet that was reminiscent of Beika High's soccer club, a soccer player._

"You're not a teenager, Ai, yet you're doing stupid teenage stuff," Shinichi whispered harshly, irritated for some unknown reason.

Taken aback at the sudden change of attitude in Shinichi and the slight insult, she shrugged out of his grasp. "Stupid teenage stuff like what?" she asked for clarification, fixing her jacket.

"Making out in broad daylight with a teenage boy, Ai?" he gestured with open arms to their surroundings. "You may look sixteen but you experienced far more in life than he has."

Ai took in Shinichi's words, replaying it in her mind. Where was this coming from? "Careful, Kudo," she warned. "If I didn't know any better, you're insinuating something," she commented on his reference of her relationship with Hiro. And curious to his answer, she had to ask, "And for the sake of argument, Kudo, with me physically as a teenager but mentally an adult, who do you think I should have a relationship with if I cannot be with someone that matches my physical age?" Shinichi was taken aback by the question as he admittedly never really thought about it. She continued, "Shall I date older males with my current physique? I'm sure many men would jump to sleep with me as a teenager." Shinichi grimaced at the sudden mental image she drew. "Or shall I wait out my teenage years and forgo experiencing a teenage romance that my previous life was denied?"

"No, of course not," he responded, listening to her.

"Then pray tell, who should I be with?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Someone who understands you, at least," he automatically responded. "Someone who at least knew of everything you've been through."

Ai let his words sink in as they both stared at each other in the middle of the street. Dark blue stared back at steely gray, confusion evident in both individuals for different reasons. "And who would that be, Kudo?"

For the life of him, no one came to mind. He couldn't think of one individual who knew both of her life as Miyano Shiho and her desire to remain as Haibara Ai. And so he stood there silently and watched as she picked up the groceries from the ground. The creaking of the gate traveled to his ears as she entered and closed it behind her. It wasn't until he heard the front door of the professor's house click shut that he turned towards his house.


	3. Chapter 3

The famous detective stood in front of the professor's door, ready to knock when he heard a rumble of laughter coming from within the house. He had promised Ai he would attend dinner, and he wasn't about to break it. Besides, he was eager to see the kids after all these years, and it wasn't as if he and Ai had a fight.

Shinichi heaved a sigh as he recalled what happened earlier. He knew he was out of line. As soon as Ai asked for his opinion, he messed up. What right did he have to give any input on Ai's relationships? Suddenly, the image of Ai making out with Hiro surfaced once again, and Shinichi gritted his teeth in annoyance. Why can't he get that damn scene out of his head?

Because it was just so unusual to see Ai do something so… uncharacteristically normal. But that's what it was about, wasn't it? Her goal as Haibara Ai was to live an ordinary life, was it not? To experience the normalcy of growing up without fear of having to constantly watch her back, the mundaneness of a fixed routine without the worry of being murdered in her sleep, as well as the ups and downs of a typical teenage romance. Teenage romance…

Who the hell was this Tachibana Hiro? Maybe if he knew more of who the bastard was and what his intentions were, he wouldn't be so hung up on Ai's love life. He paused at that thought. For fuck's sakes, he's acting like he's her goddamn guardian when she doesn't even need one.

He's beginning to get a headache the more he tried to make sense of whatever the fuck was going through his head, so he finally knocked on the door. He didn't expect Ai to be the one to let him in, considering the mood earlier. Not that they had a fight, he reminded himself.

"You don't have to knock each time," she said, holding the door wider. "You were welcomed in this house far before I even knew the professor."

Walking past her into the foyer, he spoke, "You're a resident here. It'll be rude of me to make my way in without your permission."

"You didn't in the past," she pointed out as she bent down to neatly fix his shoes he just took off, and something in her tone made Shinichi think she wasn't just referring to knocking. As if his actions lately were unlike him. He looked down at her, wanting to confirm his assumptions, but all she did was blink blankly up at him. Haibara Ai, ever the enigmatic speaker. Maybe that was why he always found talking to her so aggravatingly stimulating.

"Shin-nii-chan!"

Before Shinichi can even turn his head to the voice, he was enveloped in a tight hug as Ayumi jumped into his arms.

"Hello to you, too, Ayumi-chan," he greeted with a laugh, patting the brunette's head. She looked up, displaying a smile of utmost joy. Shinichi had to agree with Ai. Ayumi grew up well, reminding him of a younger Ran and a little bit of Ai's older sister except Ayumi's hair was of medium length and lightly layered. He smiled at how she still wore a headband.

"You're really bad at keeping promises, you know?" she said with a playful scowl, referring to his promise of keeping in contact. "Just like Conan-kun," she quietly added.

Ai didn't fail to notice Shinichi's split-second pause at the comparison. "Okay," Ai said, ushering the two to start walking, "let's move into the living room, at least. I also need to set the table."

"Come on! Mitsuhiko-kun and Genta-kun are here as well!" Ayumi exclaimed excitedly.

"Hai, hai," he said, allowing himself to be pulled by the shorter girl.

As soon as they entered the living room, Ayumi spoke happily, "Guess who's here?"

Mitsuhiko and Genta paused their video game and turned to their long-time mentor. "Shinichi-onii-chan!" "Shinichi-san!" they both exclaimed, standing up from the couch to regard the older individual.

Shinichi smiled, walking towards them. Their voices, he noted, has dropped, Genta's more so that Mitsuhiko's. "Still playing games, I see," he said, nodding to the television.

A light pink hue tinged Mitsuhiko's ears while Genta furrowed his brows at the comparison to their younger selves. Mitsuhiko shook his head. "We still do, but this game is the professor's," replied Mitsuhiko.

Genta nodded in agreement, "Yeah, we're just testing it. It's pretty boring, though."

Shinichi chuckled at Genta's last sentence, reminding him of how the boy can get easily bored. He took in the younger male and noticed he grew more husky around the chest with quite muscular arms. Ai did say he was captain of the judo and wrestling teams. He also had more of a square jaw. His hair was no longer a bald cut as he grew it out just slightly at the top, fading down to his neck and hiding the shape of his head, bald spot slightly evident. He stood taller, too, at least a couple of centimeters above Shinichi.

"It's not very appealing visually, and, intellectually, it's not much of a challenge," Mitsuhiko added to the criticism of the game.

Upon his words, Shinichi shifted his gaze to regard the president of the science and math clubs. The young academic student was almost his height save for an inch or so. He had more of an angular face and his freckles were still evident but barely visible compared to before. His dark brown hair was styled neatly, representing his formal upbringing. Shinichi also noted Mitsuhiko wasn't quite as thin as his younger self.

"The professor still makes games as well?" Shinichi asked, picking up the game cover and quickly scanning the synopsis.

"For the upcoming school festival," answered Ayumi, watching him flip the cover back and forth. "We're planning on selling it to help fund the club."

Shinichi lifted his eyes to look at the teens before him. "The Detective Club?"

Genta nodded. "Ayumi created the club," he said plopping down on the sofa with the others following in taking a seat.

Mitsuhiko smiled and added, "It's the only reason why she became Student Council President."

From behind him, Ai spoke as she set the table, "Since everyone was developing new interest and desired to experience other things, Ayumi wanted to at least create the Detective Club so that we can all meet at least once a week despite other obligations."

At this, Shinichi was impressed and looked over to the petite brunette, a dark pink hue creeping up the young girl's cheeks.

Hating the attention, she waved her arms in embarrassment. "But Ai-chan's the president of the club!"

Ai scoffed as Ayumi's efforts at shifting the attention was futile. "That's only because you're busy as StuCo President."

"That's really great, Ayumi-chan," Shinichi proclaimed proudly and reached out to pat the girl on the head once more. Ayumi's blush couldn't deepen any further, her face as red as a tomato.

"Since we're talking about the Detective Club," Mitsuhiko began, gaining Shinichi's attention once again. "When we heard from Ai-chan that you were back in Japan, we were hoping you can come to the school festival and be our star guest."

Shinichi noticed all teens were looking hopefully and eagerly at him, reminding him of Ai's expression when she had invited him for dinner. _Ah_ … that was why he was particularly invited today (since the past couple of weeks, he had casually invited himself).

He nodded. "I can do that," he committed himself and chuckled when all three teens expressed their elation at his answer. No sooner did the conversation pick-up with the teenagers updating Shinichi about the latest happenings within their lives, and Shinichi was pleased to see that the Detective Boys was as easy to talk to despite becoming teenagers.

Thirty minutes later, Ai interrupted them to announce dinner was ready. "I'll get Hakase and Hiro," said Ai before disappearing down the stairs leading to the basement, which caused Shinichi to slightly falter in stride as he headed towards the dining table.

Ayumi noticed such misstep and supplied, "Hiro-kun is a member of the Detective Club," clearly mistaking Shinichi's furrowed brows of irritation for creased brows of confusion.

Shinichi knew that already. What he wanted to know was… Shinichi stopped. What did he want to know? If Hiro and Ai were really dating? Why the hell was this Hiro bastard kissing Ai? Why was Ai even entertaining a teenage boy's hormonal whims? How far did they go? Save for the last one, he already knew the answers to those questions, didn't he?

"We all know he joined only because of Ai-chan," Genta continued, eyes sparkling as he stared at the food.

"That may be true, but he still contributes his share to the club," Ayumi countered as she sat down beside Mitsuhiko and Genta on one side of the dining table. "Besides, we needed another member to make the club official."

"If Conan-kun was still with us, we wouldn't have needed a new member," Genta pointed out, already filling his plate with rice and wincing when Ayumi smacked his hand away before he could even touch the curry.

Shinichi looked at Genta, his words brought about a slight guilt to cloud his heart. The kids still thought about him these past six years. He also realized he should stop referring to them as kids, considering that many years had passed. Smiling solemnly, he took the seat adjacent to Mitsuhiko at one end of the table. "He thinks about you guys as well," Shinichi said softly, taking a plate for himself.

Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta simultaneously looked at Shinichi before glancing at each other, exchanging similar knowing smiles.

It was then that the three remaining individuals finally emerged from the lab, and all eyes noticed Ai and Hiro on either side of the professor, helping the elder man walk. Genta immediately moved to replace Ai.

"What happened?" Shinichi questioned, concerned.

"Hakase was clumsy and tripped over one of his inventions," answered Hiro as they passed by Shinichi.

Ai moved next to Shinichi to get out of the way. The tall detective turned to her, questioningly. "He should be okay, though. I already wrapped his ankle," said Ai as she watched Mitsuhiko pull out the professor's chair and Genta and Hiro help the professor to sit.

"You're getting older, Hakase. Please take care of yourself better," Mitsuhiko spoke for everyone, who nodded in agreement.

The professor noticed all individuals casting worried looks his way. "I'm fine. As Hiro-kun said, I was just clumsy," he expressed, which did nothing to abate the concerned gazes. "I'm fine," he reassured. "Let's eat now, shall we? Ai-kun?"

At being called, Ai released a sigh. "Come on," she muttered to Shinichi, nudging him slightly with her elbow.

A couple of minutes into dinner, Hiro turned to Shinichi. "I apologize for not greeting you earlier, Kudo-san," Hiro stated. "I was helping Hakase with his inventions."

Shinichi regarded the younger boy who sat at the other side of Ai near the professor. "No worries," Shinichi replied. He then saw Ai casually place more fukujinzuke on Hiro's plate and another brow twitch happens. "So, _Hiro-kun_ ," Shinichi called, gaining the male teen's attention, who did not notice the slight acerbity in how his name was said. "Since you're part of the Detective Club, I take it you like mysteries?"

Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta all glanced at Shinichi in puzzlement, considering they had mentioned his reasoning for joining the Detective Club.

Hiro didn't think much of the question. "Can't say as much as the other members," he replied honestly and added, "but I admit it's fun."

"Oh? What makes it fun?" Shinichi asked, intrigued to his answer.

Briefly glancing at Ai that did not go unnoticed by Shinichi, Hiro answered, "I don't find the thrill and suspense in mysteries exciting, but the incentives to solve the puzzles are what motivates me."

Shinichi saw Ai, who had been casually eating, pause consuming her food, chopsticks at her lips and unmoving. He quirked a brow at her stillness. Eyes trained on the girl to his right, he spoke to Hiro, "Must be some incentives to motivate a non-mystery-lover. I'm curious to what prizes the Detective Club supplies for their activities. I also didn't think the members would have a need for such incentives."

Shinichi wasn't the type of person to rely on body language as he preferred undeniable, cold, hard, concrete evidence as proof, but he couldn't deny the light pink tinge that graced the scientist's cheeks. There was only one reason Ai would blush at the topic at hand. Whatever incentives Hiro mentioned was being supplied by Ai, and if he were to gander a guess, said incentives was related to the image that did not want to go away. Shinichi internally scoffed; he could still read her after all.

"You mean the overnight trips?" Genta interrupted, mouth half full. "I like those, too, since we get to miss classes."

At Genta's input, Ai resumed eating (not without the slight relaxation of her shoulders that did not go unobserved by Shinichi), and Hiro nodded in agreement, looking at the husky teen wrestler. "Yeah. We're lucky to have Ayumi as our StuCo Prez to approve of our club enhancement activities. We should have another one soon," he suggested, and the atmosphere was once again filled with excitement as the teens planned their next overnight trip.

Amidst the enthusiastic chatter of the teenagers, Ai could feel it. She could feel him continue to look at her, but when she turned her head to question if he wanted something, he was engaged in a conversation with Mitsuhiko about one of his many cases. It couldn't be her imagination, though. The entire left side of her body could feel the effects of his stare. With a simple look, he brought about a heat and tingling a sensation as if he personally touched her. As if he grazed his fingers ever so lightly on her skin, starting from her temple, to the tip of her ear, to her jaw, sliding down her neck, and gliding across her collar bone to the end of her shoulder. She did her best to pay it no mind, but that feeling lingered even after dinner.

When they had tea and cookies afterwards, she was aware that Shinichi purposefully sat across from her. And when she happened to look up while taking a sip of her tea, she locked eyes with him, and the look he casted her rendered her still as her body became aflame under his dark and intense stare. She immediately turned her head away, wondering if her cheeks were red because she oddly felt flushed by his gaze. Breath catching in her throat, she excused herself and retired to her room, unable to take it anymore.

An hour later, she finally emerged, wanting a glass of water, and was slightly surprised to see Shinichi still in the kitchen, cleaning up. She had assumed everyone had left home. A feeling of anxiousness engulfed her, but if she were to turn around and head back to her room, she was sure the next time she meets Shinichi, things will be needlessly awkward. So, she ignored the feeling of unease simmering in the lower part of her heart and strode to his side by the kitchen sink.

"Let me," she spoke, tying her hair into a ponytail.

"There's not much left, but you can help me dry," he replied, briefly glancing at her before going back to his task of washing the remaining dishes.

Ai nodded and grabbed the dry cloth. She reached for one of the wet dishes he placed on the drying towel and wiped it dry before placing it on the rack. "Thank you," she began. She figured one of them should break the silence, although she never felt the need to before. She continued, "for agreeing to come to the school festival. I know you're busy as is already, and we're piling onto that."

He shook his head. "It's nothing," he said, rinsing the last dish and shutting off the faucet. He turned his body to face Ai, and waited until she was finished drying the dishes in front of her before handing her the glass cup.

As she took the last dish from him, her slender fingers touched his rough ones and her heart skipped a beat at the contact. When did physical contact with him make her so conscious? If this goes on any longer, she wouldn't be able to stay in the same room as him.

She took the glass from him and began wiping it. Ignoring the obvious way he was staring down at her, she hesitantly began, "Is there something bothering you?" She placed the now dry dish on the rack and lifted her head to look him in the eyes. Although she wanted to turn her gaze away, she held firm.

He was quiet for a long while, and she had half the mind to just go back to her room until she felt his hand touch the ends of her ponytail that rested on her shoulder. "You're growing your hair out," he stated.

Furrowing her brows at the simple sentence, she looked down to where he caressed her locks. "I thought that I'd opt for a longer hairstyle since my hair was short the last time I was sixteen," she answered his voiced observation nonetheless, and then her eyebrows rose in surprise as she saw him reach around for the band holding her ponytail. Confused, she searched his eyes as she felt him pull the band, loosening her ponytail until her strawberry blonde locks tumbled softly onto her shoulders.

"Kudo…kun…?"

He always loved the color of her hair, probably since he first met her. It reminded him of cherry blossoms. Everyone admired the pink petals, but the dark mystery associated with the cherry blossoms attracted only a few. Her hair stopped right above her bust line and was soft within his touch. The color emphasized the specks of turquois within her gray irises. Haibara Ai, formerly Miyano Shiho, was absolutely beautiful.

"Shinichi," he retorted, finally letting go of her hair. Seeing her wrinkled forehead, he clarified, "I noticed you allowed the kids to call you by your first name and you call them by theirs, but you still refer to me by my last name."

Ai stared at the man two feet in front of her, trying to read his mind only to find out she couldn't. Before, she was able to tell what was on his mind. By his simple expressions, she was able to tell apart his emotions, from the smug realization of solving a case to the pure embarrassed joy when he advances his relationship with his childhood love. Why is it that as she stares at the man currently in front of her, she could not for the life of her tell what he's currently thinking or feeling? The only thing she was absolutely sure of was that he currently wanted her to call him by his first name as he stared back at her, waiting patiently for her to say something. And so, with everything else a confusion that she would rather cast aside, she quietly said his name.

"Shinichi."

Strange. Shinichi has heard his name uttered by countless of people, but no one brought about a strange feeling within his heart as Ai uttering his name. Not even Ran. When Ran said his name, he recalled the feeling of happiness, a sweet joy mixed with slight embarrassment as they both called each other by their first name for the first time. Ai, however, stirred something entirely different within him that he couldn't quite figure out. In order to decipher it, he decided he needed to hear her again. He took a step closer, the distance decreasing significantly. "Say it again."

Something told her that if she were to repeat his name right now, something will change between them. For better or worse, she didn't know, so she remained silent. But amidst her silence, she could hear the loud thumping in her heart.

"Is something wrong?" she asked instead, concern evident in her voice. "You're acting… different…"

Shinichi was taken aback. Him? _Different_? For the past month, all he could think about was how different _she_ was. "Me?" he questioned bewildered. "You're the one who's changed," he finally voiced, doing a once-over on her entire body. "You're…" he trailed off. He couldn't finish it because when he thought of what he wanted to say, Ran flashed through his mind. Like lighting, he stepped away from her.

Ai was startled at the sudden movement. "Shinichi?"

Shinichi froze at the sound of his name, a feeling of caution bubbling at the back of his mind as he was now fully aware of the feeling Ai awakened within him. He understood why Ran flashed through his mind a second ago. And he realized why seeing that kiss mark on her neck irritated him so.

"I gotta go," he voiced lowly and proceeded towards the front door, leaving a confused Ai behind. Entering his house, he went straight to his room, took out his phone, and dialed Ran's number. He needed to talk to Ran. He needed to hear Ran's voice. He needed to hear Ran say his name. He needed to hear Ran say his name to erase Ai's voice echoing in his head.

He released an aggravated sigh when it went straight to voicemail. He hung-up and tried again. _Ran, pick up_ , he pleaded. If she didn't pick up, Shinichi was forced to continue to hear Ai's voice uttering his name. And if that continued, he wouldn't be able to ignore the feeling within him. And if he couldn't ignore the feeling within him, he couldn't deny that he was lusting after Ai.

Shinichi clenched his jaw when it once again went to voicemail.


	4. Chapter 4

Shinichi took pride in his zero streak of erroneous deductions. In fact, with a perfect record of catching criminals under his belt, his ego would be immensely bruised if he were to ever be wrong in his inferences. However, this one time and one time only, he would willingly admit that he was mistaken. There was no way he held such feelings towards his neighbor. Whatever feeling he felt that one evening when he was alone with Ai was nothing but simple affection towards a friend he dearly missed. It was an affection that he easily mistaken for lust due to missing Ran at the same time. After all, it has been a whole month since he last physically saw Ran. His feelings were misconstrued as he projected the feelings he felt for Ran onto Ai because he was troubled over the fact that he couldn't, for the life of him, stop thinking about Ai and her boyfriend. Not to mention, just earlier that day, he had acknowledged that he greatly missed his friendship with Ai. His mind was a great big mess that his feelings were unconsciously affected. That was all.

Despite his sound rationalization, Shinichi had significantly lessened the time he spent at his neighbor's house, staying only a few minutes, never an hour. Since that night a week ago, he would buy dinner after work and head straight home. He called Ran every chance he had, preferably video chatting as his desire to see her had increased. Their conversation time had multiplied tenfold that Ran had to question if there was anything bothering him.

"I just miss you," he had answered, and it wasn't a lie. Encompassing the entirety of his heart was a sweet pain of not having Ran physically with him. However, a tiny, miniscule doubt of unease towards that same answer laid somewhere within that he completely ignored.

Lying back on the sofa within the library, Shinichi closed his eyes as he recalled the last time he was intimate with Ran. It was his graduation. Both Ran and he returned to their apartment after a small celebration with his parents, a few friends they had made during their years in college, and anybody who happened to be in America during the time, such as Shuuichi Akai, Jodi Sterling, and Sonoko Suzuki. High off of sheer celebratory joy alone, Shinichi naturally pulled Ran in for a kiss the instant the door closed after them. She responded willingly, melting into his embrace, and no sooner did they both lose themselves in such a tender and sweet kiss.

He was aware that Ran's anxiety of watching her parents' strained relationship was inadvertently affecting their relationship. It didn't help that he "disappeared" for a whole year, and no matter how much he assured her he will never disappear like that again, some part of her will always feel anxious. Knowing that, he tried to ease her heart by slowly coaxing her and assuring her through gentle, passionate kisses, tight, warm embraces, and soft, loving touches that he was fully committed to her. That night, he had thought that he finally got through to her as they were so close until she kept him at arm length and cried. "I'm sorry," she had softly whimpered. Her crying face had done well to extinguish his arousal, and he had spent the entire night holding her in his arms. "It's okay," he had mollified, over and over.

Shinichi, since then, resigned himself to holding hands, kisses, caresses, and nothing more. Seeing Ran cry troubled him to the point that he would do nothing further unless she initiated. He told her he wouldn't pressure her to do anything that she wasn't ready for. Waiting for her was something he would not think twice to do.

Although he graduated earlier, Shinichi didn't plan on returning to Japan until Ran graduated. After all, he only decided to attend Harvard because of her. Now with a criminal justice degree and a year and a half of free time until Ran graduated, Shinichi momentarily played with the idea of becoming a lawyer while waiting for Ran to finish her degree in physical therapy. However, after having lunch with Shuuichi one day, he was offered to join the FBI since he had greatly assisted them in the take-down of the Black Organization.

Tempting as it was, Shinichi had wanted to decline as he wanted to work in his home country, but Shuuichi immediately assured him that he will work in the International Operations Divisions, specifically the legal attaché program located in Tokyo, and, if anything, would just be momentarily. Only then did Shinichi agree.

When he told Ran of his new job, she was undoubtedly happy. In fact, she was the one who urged him to fly back home and begin his career. Although hesitant in returning by himself, Shinichi thought that maybe it was for the better. Nothing he has said or done has helped assuage her reservations. Ironically as it seems, maybe with the distance apart, Ran can personally come to terms with her anxiety about fully being with him.

 _Ding Dong!_

Shinichi furrowed his brows as the doorbell rang throughout his estate. From the library's intercom, he saw Ayumi and Mitsuhiko patiently standing outside the gate. He let them in and met them at the front door. "I thought you guys would be working on your school festival activity. It's tomorrow, isn't it?" he asked, eyes darting from Ayumi to Mitsuhiko.

"We've finished. We're just about to head to the park. You're not doing anything now, are you?" Mitsuhiko questioned.

"We need another player to even out the numbers… and skill," added Ayumi.

"Ayumi and I are requesting your assistance in this sports game, Shinichi-san. If we win, we do not have to lift a finger the next time we go camping," Mitsuhiko explained. He briefly filled Shinichi in of a little disagreement they had about rice toppings that somehow evolved into a soccer match with a bet on labor work.

"Would it even be fair if I were to play?" he questioned with creased brows.

"We're up against Genta-kun and Hiro-kun," Ayumi said pitifully that it came off rather adorable. She looked up at the young detective with such imploring eyes that Shinichi had to chuckle. It would be a crime to say no. Besides, it's been awhile since he last played soccer with the kids.

"Let me change first."

Roughly ten minutes later, they arrived at the nearby park to see Genta and Hiro in the middle of warming up. Ai sat under a tree, nonchalantly reading a magazine.

"Ready to lose?" Ayumi taunted, catching the three's attention.

Hiro caught the ball Genta kicked to him and held onto it as Shinichi, Ayumi, and Mitsuhiko approached them.

"I can't believe I have a chance to play with Tokyo's Grim Reaper," Hiro expressed with a wide grin, looking at Shinichi, quite excited.

Although still not fully warmed up to Hiro-kun, Shinichi didn't really have a well-founded reason to dislike the boy. He just did. However, it seemed as though the Detective Boys have taken a liking to him, and if the kids were any judge of character, they were at least good ones. After all, they befriended him and Ai.

"So I hear winner is free of labor?" Shinichi questioned, looking to the teens.

Genta nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, so what's the hold up? The sooner you lose, the better."

At Genta's words, Ayumi ran up to Hiro and grabbed the ball from him. "You're gonna eat those words, Genta-kun!" she called and started kicking the ball towards one of the goal posts.

Ai shook her head in amusement as Genta chased after and easily took the ball from a now sad and annoyed Ayumi. He quickly passed it to Hiro, who swiftly ran the opposite direction and effortlessly scored the first point for their team.

"Hey!" Ayumi yelled across the field at Hiro. "Our goalie wasn't even ready!" she gestured to Mitsuhiko, who only just arrived at his post.

"An eye for an eye, Ayumi-chan!" Hiro called back with a grin and a shrug.

"Yeah, I wasn't even in front of you and you started running," Genta said as he passed the petite girl to block the opposing team's goal.

Arching a brow at what just happened, Shinichi walked up to Ayumi and tapped her nose. "That's what you get for trying to cheat," he lightly and half-heartedly scolded.

Joining her teammates on the small public soccer field, Ai walked up to Hiro and beckoned him to lean down. Raising a brow, the taller boy nonetheless followed her orders and bent towards her. Ai then reached forward and gathered Hiro's soft locks, tying it so that his playing wouldn't be hindered by obscured vision.

"Am I cute?" he asked with a quirk of his brow once Ai was finished before tilting his head and posing for the strawberry-blonde beauty.

"I'll cover Ayumi-chan. You just worry about Kudo-kun," Ai said before leaving to guard their StuCo President.

Hiro chuckled as he watched Ai walk away. As usual, his question and playfulness were completely disregarded. Although it bruises his heart each time she ignores his playful advances, he knew that was the main reason he keeps at it. That completely expressionless look she maintains was the motivating factor, and he's rewarded each time.

Noticing Shinichi turning the opposite way as Ai approached them, Hiro furrowed his brows in intrigued puzzlement as Shinichi just walked passed Ai without so much of a glance. But if he remembered correctly, during the dinner a week ago, that same detective couldn't keep his eyes off her. "'Just worry about Kudo-kun,' huh?" he repeated and scoffed to himself in slight amusement and annoyance. "Didn't you know? I always am."

Walking up to Shinichi, Hiro stuck out his hand. "I look forward to the game," he said and added, "Senpai."

At suddenly being referred to as "senpai" by the boy in front of him, a couple of thoughts ran through Shinichi's head. The first one was the noticeable enunciation that almost seemed as if the younger boy was taunting him, but with the wide smile he was receiving, maybe he was just overthinking things. The second was the fact that the word emphasized their age difference and that annoyed him, and not knowing why he was annoyed was annoying him further. The only thing he knew about the annoyance was that it was associated with Ai, and something told him that he should prevent his thoughts from proceeding any further. Because if he were to decipher the actual meaning behind the annoying feeling, the reason would enter his mind and never leave.

And there are certain feelings that should never be realized.

"Likewise," Shinichi replied, shaking the younger boy's hand.

Ten minutes into the game, Shinichi was expectedly leading the points for his team and only needed one more to win the game. Unexpectedly, however, they were only winning by a two-point difference. The young detective found that the high-school soccer player was constantly at his heels. A couple of times, Hiro had managed to steal the ball from him and score points from across the field. It didn't help that Genta was successfully blocking most of his goals as well. Playing against the two athletes was proving to be quite a task.

After Hiro scored another point, Mitsuhiko passed the ball to Ayumi, who was nearer. Taking the ball, Ayumi looked for Shinichi, who was at the opposite end of the field, and tried to pass the ball to him. However, Ai managed to take the ball mid-pass and began kicking the ball back to Mitsuhiko. If Ai scored, the points will be tied, and Ayumi wasn't able to catch up to Ai in time to stop her. So Shinichi ran for it.

Sprinting across the field, Shinichi saw Ai bringing back her leg to kick the ball, and just before her foot can come into contact with the ball, Shinichi slid to kick the ball from under her. In the process, he caught Ai by surprise, making her lose her balance.

Ai closed her eyes, bracing herself to hit ground, but opened them when she landed in a pair of arms instead. Underneath her was Shinichi staring back at her. His hands were at her waist of where he managed to catch her, holding her lightly above him.

"My bad," he apologized, the pressure of holding a person on top of him making his voice throatier than usual. "Just couldn't let you score a point," he offered a small smile.

"Ah, no…thanks," Ai responded, a little flustered that she was on top of Shinichi. Realizing that fact, she immediately tried to get off of him. "I'm sorry," she said, lifting herself off him, only to fall back on him as his necklace was caught on to the button of her shirt.

Both individuals were immediately aware of how close their bodies were as chest, stomach, and hips were fully flushed against each other's. For three whole seconds, nothing was said and no one moved. The first to move was Ai. Unable to help the blush on her face, she lifted her head to look at their current dilemma. The sooner she untangled it, the sooner she can get off him, and the sooner she can get away from how intently he was beginning to stare at her.

In order to untangle Shinichi's necklace from her, Ai had to shift her weight to free her hands. Therefore she had no choice but to leverage herself upright by using her lower body. The only thing on her mind was to quickly untangle his necklace and put some distance between them, so she wasn't aware of how she moved her hips against Shinichi's in such a suggestive fashion. And she kept doing it to angle herself better to look at where they were connected.

Closing his eyes, Shinichi clenched his jaw and firmly gripped Ai's waist to still her. Confused, Ai looked to Shinichi.

"Move any more, Ai, and I'm going to be walking through this park with an erection that will get me arrested," he spoke lowly, causing Ai to blush even further at the boldness and vulgarity of his words. "Please stop moving," he pleaded and looked at her, and Ai noticed the obvious defeated tone in his voice and features. He looked and sounded almost helpless… as if something horrible happened and he could do nothing about it.

Her heart suddenly ached in rejection, and she was completely confused as to why. She was perfectly aware that his heart belonged to Ran and resolved long ago to drop her affection for the young detective, so it wasn't as if she hoped for anything. And yet… the feeling of rejection was painfully strong.

"Stay still. I'll do it," Shinichi spoke and moved his hands from her waist to take his necklace from her, and Ai waited patiently still as she watched Shinichi untangle his necklace from her button.

Ever since Shinichi came back, Ai was in a mental and emotional mess. To begin with, his appearance alone was enough to make her feminine instincts falter, and she realized that even though she had casted her feelings for him aside, she'll always be physically attracted to him. It didn't help with him constantly coming over for dinner and then suddenly stop after asking her to call him by his first name. That incident caused her a restless night of sleep as she contemplated over her actions. Then there were those times she catches him staring at her, rendering her mind a disorganized jumbled mess as the look he gives her flusters her in a frighteningly yet excitingly way that, she didn't want to admit, awakens her womanly inhibitions. But there was no way she'll allow herself to think of Shinichi that way. It would only just cause her heartache, even if it was just physical attraction.

So when he openly admitted that he was physically affected by her enough to be aroused, Ai's heart was banging against her ribcage in an instinctive response, yet that destitute expression he displayed doused the emotion beating within her as she was filled with rejection instead. What distraught her the most was that she, herself, was doing nothing to warrant all these emotions. They were all in response to Shinichi and his actions.

"Are you guys alright?" Mitsuhiko questioned, and Ai wondered when exactly did they all gather around them. She felt the embarrassed blush creeping up again, and she's beginning to hate how much she's blushing lately.

"Got it," Shinichi then said, finally removing his necklace from around Ai's button, and he never saw Ai move away from him so quickly. Immediately, she went to Hiro's side and grabbed onto his upper arm, reminding him of all the times she grabbed onto him every time she felt one of the BO members nearby.

"You okay?" He heard Hiro ask and saw her hesitantly glance at him before nodding. He had scared her.

"Well, we lost," Genta said annoyed, "in case you guys were too busy to notice."

Getting up and dusting off his pants, Shinichi turned his head to Ayumi, raising his brows.

"I scored the winning point!" Ayumi exclaimed happily.

"After you guys fell, Ayumi-chan took the ball and managed to make a goal. She fooled Genta-kun with a hard kick to the right but softly kicked it to the left instead," Mitsuhiko explained, picking up the ball Genta dropped a few seconds ago.

"Don't look at me," Genta defended when Hiro arched a brow at him. "You were the one too busy looking at Ai-chan and Shinichi-nii-chan on the ground to pay attention to Ayumi-chan."

At the mention of that, Hiro felt Ai tense next to him. "Sorry…?" Hiro offered with a sheepish grin and a small shrug. Turning to Ayumi and Mitsuhiko, Hiro conceded. "Good job, Ayumi-chan. And like promised, we'll handle all the work on our next trip."

Although still annoyed at losing, Genta gave Ayumi a high-five. "You were good, Ayumi-chan."

Smiling brightly, Ayumi thanked Genta and Hiro for their compliments. "Ai-chan and I made tea and sandwiches. Let's eat before going home," she said and started walking back to the tree where Ai was reading earlier.

"Thanks, but I need to head back now, Ayumi-chan," Shinichi spoke. He didn't want to make Ai feel any more uncomfortable around him.

"Wait!" Ayumi called, quickly running to her bag to grab a sandwich and a drink thermos before running back to Shinichi and handing him the items. "Thank you for playing with us. Truthfully, we really wanted to play with you for the longest time, but we all thought you would be too busy or wouldn't want to play with a bunch of teenagers. But Ai-chan said you wouldn't mind if you had the time. And our stupid argument was supposed to be settled between the four of us, but Ai-chan said she'll play to even out the players and encouraged us to ask you," she said in one breath. "So thanks again, Shinichi-nii-chan," she said, quickly giving the young detective a hug before returning to join everyone else under the tree. "Hope we can play again soon!"

That small tidbit of information made Shinichi scoff to himself. Ai still works from behind the scenes, never wanting credit for even the tiniest of good deeds. Leaving the Detective Boys to themselves, Shinichi turned to head back home until he saw something that caught his attention. If Ayumi hadn't spoken to him, Shinichi would have missed the action, but he saw it that made him question who Tachibana Hiro really was.

It was a simple action. The thermos had slipped from Ai's hand, and Hiro had reflexively caught it. It wasn't that he had caught it that Shinichi found weird (a decent athletic person would have a fast enough reflex to catch a falling object, and after playing with him for a whole game, Shinichi had accessed Hiro was more than a decent athlete), it was how he had caught it. The motion was rather fluid that it reminded him of a how he once saw Shuuichi catch a handgun and flipped it within his hold. The action was so similar that made Shinichi recall everything he had observed of the boy and question it, such as when he first met Hiro, he noticed how the teenager looked at his waist and ankles and assessed him from head to toe. He noticed the action but didn't dwell on it for the fact that Ai was on his mind at the time.

Ai…

He couldn't deny the pleasurable feeling of having her pressed up against him. Everything he rationalized earlier was thrown out the window when his body physically responded to her inadvertent rubbing. It was undeniable. No matter if he was a hundred percent sure that he wanted to marry Ran and live his future with her, he was irrefutably physically attracted to Ai.

He was in need of a cold shower.

At 8pm, Shinichi was dressed in a fresh pair of sweatpants with a towel draped around his neck to catch any falling drops of water from his hair. He walked into his kitchen to get a glass of water when his doorbell rang for the second time today. This time, however, Ai was at his door.


	5. Chapter 5

Nostalgia filled Shinichi as he walked through the crowded halls of Beika High, the mirth and merriment of people enjoying the school festival highly contagious. Every where he turned, he was reminded of his time as a high school student, enjoying the youthful years with Ran and his friends. He smiled at the fond memories and wished the teenagers passing him the same enjoyment he had.

Overhearing some students talk about the mystery scavenger hunt activity, he knew he was getting closer to his destination. When he finally arrived at the designated room for the Detective Club, a rush of emotions swept through him when he saw Ai in her school uniform talking to other students about the mystery game they were hosting.

"Haibara-san's looking beautiful as always."

Shinichi arched a brow at the statement and turned his head to the source. Behind him were two boys leaning on the windowsill, obvious attraction for the strawberry-blonde on their pubescent faces.

"Don't let your girlfriend hear you," said the second male student with a haircut and piercings mimicking some pop idol.

The first male student shrugged before suddenly leaning towards his friend. Lowering his voice, he asked, "Don't you imagine what'll be like, though?"

The idol imitator arched a brow. "Imagine what?"

At that question, Shinichi purposely tuned them out and walked into the room, getting away from them as quickly as he could, not because he was annoyed or angry but because he knew where their conversation was heading, and he didn't want any images conjuring up in his mind, especially from teenage boys and their hormonal-fueled fantasies. He had a difficult time acknowledging his attraction towards Ai as it is. He shook his head, recalling Ai's sudden visit last night…

 _With how hard Shinichi was staring at Ai through the intercom, one would think he hated her as he had his brows creased and jaw tense in deep concentration. But no… rather than a certain emotion bubbling within the deep crevices of his heart, hating Ai would be, although crueler, a much easier emotion to handle. The only thing plaguing Shinichi's thoughts was the realization of him being attracted to Ai. Any healthy male would find Ai beautiful, and he was no exception. He was attracted to her. He was fully aware of it._

 _Now that he was conscious of it, he only had one decision. He would do nothing. He will do absolutely nothing about the feeling of lust towards Ai lying dormant within him. He will ignore it and leave it there to die over time. And so with that last thought, Shinichi momentarily detoured his way back to his room to grab a t-shirt._

 _"Need something, Ai?" he questioned after opening the door._

 _Startled at the door suddenly opening, Ai took a second to gather herself before stretching her arm out. "Some fans mistook the professor's mailbox as yours."_

 _Shinichi looked at the few letters in her hand. He didn't know what her purpose for visiting was but delivering fan letters wasn't on his mind. "You could've thrown it away," he said but took them from her nonetheless._

 _Ai shook her head at that notion. "Their emotions were strong enough to make them write a letter. Throwing it away without it ever reaching it's recipient would be sad," she replied and continued, "but since they're now in your hands, it's up to you whether to read them or not."_

 _Out of everyone he knew, Ai was the only one that had the ability to look at him and make him second guess his thoughts and actions. It was as if she knew life's secrets, and she makes you feel pitiful as you question your knowledge about it. Her eyes seemed to hold the world within it, and if you looked closely, you could see just how beautifully sad the world was._

 _"Was that all?"_

 _With her other hand, she handed him a facemask and a cap. He quirked a brow at the objects. "Beika High's living legend is paying a visit tomorrow. You'll have a difficult time walking around if people recognize you."_

 _Shinichi was taken aback at the thoughtfulness. Despite scaring her earlier, she still went out of her way to think about him. His heart dangerously tinged for a second as he quietly took the items. With nothing else spoken, an awkward silence suddenly engulfed them._

 _"I'll see you tomorrow, Kudo-kun, and thanks again for doing this," Ai spoke, wanting to escape the silence, and turned to leave._

 _Before Shinichi realized what he was doing, he reached out and caught her before she could take a step further. Instantly, he cursed himself. What the hell was he going to do? Invite her in? That was the furthest thing he wanted to do after realizing his feelings. But he knew the last thing he wanted was to see her leave, and his body unknowingly acted upon it._

 _He watched Ai look to her wrist of where he held her before lifting her eyes to meet his in confusion, waiting quietly for him to say something. "I just realized I didn't say thanks," he said, slowly releasing her wrist from his grasp. "And you're still calling me 'Kudo,'" he pointed out._

 _Ai stood still for a couple of seconds as she searched his eyes. He was beginning to dislike that action of hers, as if she was trying to read him, and as much as he was comfortable with it back then, he currently didn't want to be read._

 _She gave an acknowledged nod and a small smile. "Good night… Shinichi," she said quietly, and he watched her leave._

 _He knew that she was purposely putting the distance between them, but he didn't want that. Despite his current dilemma, he truly cared for their friendship. It was one thing to internally acknowledge his lust towards the young scientist. It was another to acknowledge it out loud. If he can keep his feelings in check and suppress the minimal physical attraction he had towards her, then there was nothing to worry about. He can continue life as it is._

"Finally," Ai spoke upon catching sight of him as he entered the clubroom. Noticing his creased brows as she walked up to him, she answered his unasked question, "I could recognize you anywhere, disguise or not."

Although she nonchalantly said that, Shinichi couldn't deny the warmth her words brought about. He took off his hat and facemask. "You were the one that gave me these," he retorted.

Taking the items from him, she began to explain the activity. "Ayumi-chan and Mitsuhiko-kun are currently going around advertising the competition with you."

"Competition?"

Ai nodded as she motioned for him to take off his jacket. Although confused as to what's going on, Shinichi followed as instructed while she momentarily went to retrieve a black garment from a box. She continued her explanation. "We've been advertising a competition with the great Detective of the East. It's pretty simple. All you need to do is participate in the mystery scavenger hunt. Any participants who beat you in taking all the pictures in the hunt win a prize."

"Pictures?" he inquired as Ai helped him in wearing a black yukata. She slipped the robe over his shoulders, making sure it was properly fitted.

Tying the yukata over his clothes, she answered, "It's a picture scavenger hunt."

Shinichi gave an impressed look. "Sounds fun," he responded as Ai grabbed a white obi off a nearby chair.

Ai leaned into Shinichi and encircled her arms around him to grab the sash from behind before tying it securely around the young detective's waist. "And since you're so clever," she continued as she fixed the obi, "your clues will be more difficult compared to the others. At least, as difficult as we could make it." She then grabbed the straw hat that hung on the same nearby chair and placed it over Shinichi's head. Finally noticing he was quiet, she retracted her hand and creased her brows. "What's wrong?"

It took a second for Shinichi to shake his head. "Nothing. Why?"

"Well…," she began, "I complimented you, but you didn't retort with a conceited comment."

Shinichi furrowed his brows at her statement but chose to ignore the narcistic remark. How could he admit that he was taken surprise when she suddenly wrapped her arms around him? "Just wondering why I'm wearing this," he answered instead, lifting his arms.

"I got the idea after playing soccer yesterday when Hiro used your nickname."

"I thought the idea was to lay low," he replied, gesturing to the hat and facemask Ai placed on the table.

Briefly glancing at the items, she took the strings connecting to the straw hat and began tying it under Shinichi's jaw. "Once you leave this classroom, it'll be difficult to talk to you again. I just wanted to make sure I got to you before everyone else does."

Shinichi looked down to the genius beauty before him and tilted his head as a thought occurred to him. "You're making sure I'll attract attention, huh?" It'll be harder to complete the hunt if people keep coming up to him.

He watched Ai shrug a shoulder, playing innocent. "We have to even the stakes. You'll complete this scavenger hunt in a second if we don't place some disadvantages over you."

"Exploiting me, Ai?" he asked, shaking his head. "Can't say I approve of this."

After smoothing over any wrinkles in his yukata, she took a piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to him. "Think of how heartbroken Ayumi-chan would be if she found out that you left."

Opening it, he saw it was the first clue to the first picture he needed to take. "And if I win?" he questioned, placing the clue in his shirt pocket.

"What happened to the thrill of solving a mystery?" she questioned back, placing a hand on her hip. Before Shinichi could give a rejoinder, Ai's attention shifted to the door when Hiro called her.

"Ai, need your help," he said with a sheepish smile, holding up a hair tie. Just like that, Shinichi watched Ai leave him to attend to Hiro.

"Getting in your way?" Ai questioned Hiro after tying his hair.

He stood up straight from leaning over and nodded, feeling the little ponytail on top of his head. "Should I get a haircut?"

Ai crossed her arms to objectively look at the taller boy. After a second, she shook her head. "No. I like it this length," she decided and brought her hand to run through his loose locks at the back of his head. She repeated the action a couple of times until Hiro grabbed hold of her hand, removing it from his head, because if he didn't, he would be taking Ai to the nearest empty classroom to make-out with her in order to the quell the stirring in his chest she brought about.

"Fully noted," he smirked and pressed her fingers to his lips, causing Ai to raise a brow at him. "Gotta get back to helping Genta sell Hakase's games. See you later," he bid and quickly leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. Ai lightly laughed as she watched him leave the room in a hurry. Remembering Shinichi, she turned around only to see the space he last occupied empty.

Two hours later and eighty percent of the scavenger hunt accomplished, Shinichi was quite exhausted. The 'difficult clues' weren't challenging at all. What tired him was the constant meeting of people requesting for photos or stopping him to hold a conversation. Ai was one devious woman.

Taking refuge under a tree near the soccer field, Shinichi took off his hat and was about to take out the clue for the last picture when he heard someone call him. Turning his head, he immediately caught a bottle of Pocari Sweat.

"Ai wanted me to give this to you," Hiro spoke and held out a small plastic bag containing a fruit sandwich.

"Thanks," he expressed, taking the bag from him and placing it on the grass beside him before opening the drink bottle.

"It must be hard being famous," Hiro commented, watching Shinichi down half the bottle.

Shinichi recapped his bottle, eyeing the younger male that was smiling down at him. His eyes traveled up to Hiro's tied hair. "I see you and Ai are really close," he commented back.

Hiro's smile grew, knowingly. "More or less," he responded with a shrug of the shoulder.

Everything about his answer annoyed Shinichi. In fact, just looking at Hiro was annoying him, especially that smile he always wore. Recalling yesterday, Shinichi started, "You're pretty good at soccer. Going to take it up professionally?"

Sensing a conversation starting, Hiro leaned on the tree and crossed his arms as Shinichi took out the fruit sandwich and began to eat the light snack. "Thanks. That means a lot coming from you, Senpai," the younger athlete replied and then shook his head, "but no, I'd prefer a different occupation."

Shinichi's interest was intrigued as a particular scene he witnessed yesterday flashed through his mind. "Such as?"

Hiro was quiet for a second or two, seemingly deep in thought about the question, before breaking out into a sheepish grin. "Not sure, yet. I'm still in my second year of high school, after all."

Shinichi kept quiet, observingly. The more he was around Hiro, the more he speculated that the male teenager was hiding something. "What about acting?" he blatantly questioned, which made Hiro pause.

For the first time, Shinichi saw him drop his smile, and a tension-filled silence engulfed them as the two males locked eyes. A few seconds later, Hiro broke the silence as he grinned widely. "Interesting that you said that," he laughed as though they weren't sizing each other up a second ago. "I was scouted while out on a date with Ai once."

Shinichi internally scowled. The bastard was really pissing him off. He stood up. "Tell Ai thanks," he said before striding off to complete his scavenger hunt.

With the frown he was now wearing, Shinichi was able to complete the rest of the hunt smoothly as people hardly approached him. He was on his way back to the clubroom when a little boy ran pass him. The little boy was chasing after his balloon, paying no attention to his surroundings, and no sooner did the little boy trip. In an effort to catch himself before he hit the ground, the little boy caught a nearby banner, but it proved to be fruitless as the boy dragged the banner down with him.

Shinichi quickly moved his feet at the same time he heard many onlookers gasp, because the falling of the banner created a domino effect, dragging other strings and posters it was connected to, which in turn pulled down the thin metal pole they were tied onto, heading straight towards the little boy.

"Daisuke-kun!" shouted a distressed mother after her son.

Using his body as a shield, Shinichi felt the metal pole make contact with the back of his head in a loud bang that echoed in his ears, the inside of his head ringing and throbbing from the collision. He should've put the hat back on. "You okay?" Shinichi asked the little boy, despite the pain increasing every second.

The people nearby immediately began helping Shinichi by removing the pole and tangled mess of banners, posters, and strings. Shinichi stood up and helped the little boy to his feet.

"Daisuke-kun!" called the mother as she collected her son in a hug and quickly assessing his body for any injury. Once she confirmed he was okay, she immediately began bowing to Shinichi, thanking him over and over again.

After assuring everyone he was okay, he made way towards the infirmary. His head was painfully throbbing that he needed to lie down somewhere quiet and was pleased to find the room completely vacant. Closing the door behind him, he settled into one of the beds and closed his eyes. About five minutes later, he heard the door open.

"Quite a hero, aren't you?"

Shinichi scoffed. "It was reflexive," he replied to Ai's comment and felt the bed sink as she sat beside him.

"I know," she said softly as many memories of Shinichi saving her flashed through her mind. Shinichi paused. From the fondness in her tone, he knew what she was thinking about, the same memories flashing through his mind. He lifted his arm and saw her smile warmly at him. "You just can't leave a person in need alone," she said and instructed him to sit up.

Noticing the small bag of ice, he sat up and held his hand out for it but was taken aback when she ran her hand over the back of his head instead. Finding the bump, she then brought the ice bag over the injured area. Seeing him wince, she immediately retracted the bag. "Sorry," she apologized.

Shinichi shook his head slightly. "No, it's just cold," he negated, and she resumed pressing the bag of ice to the throbbing area. Her focus on holding the ice bag and Shinichi still taken aback by the action, silence once again consumed the two individuals, only this time, it wasn't awkward. He felt her hand run through his hair once more.

"Your bump's still there, but give it another hour and it should disappear," she said as she lightly ran her fingers over the bump.

Shinichi found the action more soothing than the ice bag as it somehow relaxed his entire body. He turned to her as she continued to rub at the bump, gently massaging it. Something about being in the infirmary with Ai in her uniform caused a light jab to his chest. For the first time, he imagined never taking the antidote and reliving his teenage years a second time… with Ai. If the current atmosphere served as an insight to what it would have been like, he almost regretted taking the pill. As soon as he thought that, Shinichi shook his head, immediately ridding that thought.

"If you were wearing your hat, it might not have hurt that much," Ai pointed out. At Shinichi's creased brows, she knew he was wondering how she knew that and supplied, "Hiro brought it back, said you left it behind."

At the mere mention of his name, Shinichi's brow twitched in annoyance. He swiftly grabbed the ice bag out of Ai's hand and brought it to the back of his head, moving her hand away.

"Something wrong?" she asked, placing her hands in her lap, noticing something was obviously bothering him.

 _No, nothing's wrong_ , he internally answered. The problem was with him alone. Instead of acknowledging that something was bothering him, he took his phone out and handed to her. "I was on my way back to you before the incident. Finished your scavenger hunt."

Ai looked at all the pictures he took. Like expected, he perfectly completed the hunt. "Unfortunately, you're not the first one," she spoke, returning his phone.

Shinichi arched a brow at her. "So what was the prize?"

"Bragging rights about completing it before the famous Detective of the East," she easily answered.

The young detective made a deadpan expression. "So there really was no prize to begin with?"

Ai shrugged in response, "Depends on how you look at things."

He scoffed in return. "Did you really even need me?"

Tired, Ai shifted herself on the bed to sit more comfortably as she was mostly using her left leg to prevent herself from falling off. Completely on the bed now, her right leg was outstretched next to his, the difference in length obvious. "Many people signed up to participate, saying they saw you playing and wanted to join, too." She angled her head towards him, the proximity between them closer than before but a good distance maintained. "So yes, we did need you," she said with a sincere smile, and Shinichi thought that Ai's smile was something he wanted to keep to himself. She continued, "And as thanks, I thought about what you said and decided to award you. After all, you did take leave from work to help us." She paused for a second before asking, "What would you like, Shinichi?"

Shinichi realized that he shouldn't have insisted she call him by his given name as the sound of his name coming from her lips stirred that foreboding emotion within him once again. Why was he so attuned to her saying his name?

"Shinichi?" she inquired, wondering why he was quiet for so long.

Shinichi lifted his eyes to meet her concerned ones. She stared back at him, waiting for a response. His eyes then traveled down to her lips. "What about the prizes you give to Hiro?" he questioned, and he saw Ai flush red instantly. He knew it.

Taken aback at the question, Ai turned her face away to try to hide the embarrass blush from the male next to her. For the whole day, she was doing her best to act normal in front of him, and she thought she was doing a hell of a job… until now. She needed to quickly compose herself, but the audacity of his question and the insinuation was enough to make her heart beat uncontrollably.

Shinichi clenched his jaw at the confirmation of his thoughts regarding Ai's personal prizes for the cheeky bastard he spoke to earlier. The mere thought irritated him more than to know that she and the bastard goes on dates. He shouldn't have come back, he concluded. He should've just stayed in America. He should've stayed with Ran and waited until she graduated before returning to Japan. If he did that, then maybe he wouldn't be in the infirmary of his old high school, attracted to someone other than Ran. The fact that he was aware he was attracted to Ai and was unable to suppress it angered him to another level. He reached over and angled her chin to face him.

Ai stayed still, her heart beating erratically against her ribcage as Shinichi brought his face closer to hers. The expression he showed rendered her speechless as he looked as if he was angry or upset with her. With his actions, she couldn't think of anything else, much less decipher why he looked at her with so much contempt.

Moving pass her lips, he spoke against her ear. "Help me get rid of this feeling, Ai," he pleaded. "If I don't, I might end up kissing you."


	6. Chapter 6

Despite the loud thumping of her heart echoing in her head, Ai fully understood now. Shinichi's confusing actions and behavior; the way he looked at her, making her feel uncomfortable; why he suddenly stopped coming to the professor's house for dinner; the random silence and comments he makes when with her—they all finally made sense to her. And she realized why he looked at her with an expression akin to hatred.

Shinichi was attracted to her and fighting against it.

Her brain rushed to separate the many emotions she felt from Shinichi's revelation, trying to find a way to react other than sitting stock-still. What did she feel? Embarrassment? Joy? Shock? Fear? Whatever she felt, they were all mixing within her in aggravating chaos. The only emotion she was fully aware of occupying her heart was _pity_. As Shinichi leaned his head on her shoulder, pleading to her to help him rid of an emotion he did not want, she felt pity because all she heard in that confession was that he loved Ran. Her heart clenched. Only Shinichi can reject a person through a confession.

"You're the _worst_."

Her tone was soft yet sharp against his ear. "I know," he agreed.

 _That doesn't make it better_ , she thought, her heart aching due to his admittance of being an asshole. In fact, it angered her. "By saying that to me, what do you expect was supposed to happen?"

Shinichi noticed her voice held an underlying cold tenor and tightened his jaw because her words rang true. What did he expect to happen? What did he _want_ to happen?

"What was supposed to happen, Shinichi?" she repeated, her vexation gradually building at his silence.

She felt him shake his head slightly before answering, "I don't know," he said in frustration. "I _don't_ know," he repeated, his head still resting on her shoulder. He didn't want to move. He didn't want to see her face or the expression she was making. "I just… ever since I saw you that first night I got back, you've been constantly on my mind," he said in an annoyed tone. "You don't know how much I tried to rationalize this… this feeling towards you. 'It's only fleeting', 'you just haven't seen her in a while', 'she's beautiful, of course you'll be physically attracted to her'… I keep repeating those words in my head, but… I can't help it…" He saw her hands resting in her lap and resisted the urge to reach out and hold them within his. "I want to touch you, Ai," he revealed softly, and he saw her fist her hands as if she knew they were being watched.

She didn't think it was possible for her heart to beat any faster. She always knew Shinichi was blunt with his words, uncaring of who the recipient was, but to blatantly string such words together and admit it to her. How could he?

She closed her eyes, trying to calm her heart. All the memories of watching him from afar surfaced her mind, bringing back the emotions they came with: the envy, the longing, the hurt, and the sorrow. No other man she knew could make her feel all emotions at once. Shinichi, selfless and arrogant in almost every way, would beg for one reason only. How could she turn him away?

"Then touch m—," Ai wasn't able to finish the sentence when the door to the infirmary opened.

* * *

Tachibana Hiro. 17 years old, physically. 28 years old, mentally.

Clever. Agile. Carefree. Perceptive. Handsome. A combination of attributes that give rise to a rather roguish but competent personality. With a relaxed temperament, Hiro always preferred the easy route. He wasn't much of a rule breaker, but he also wasn't the type to be bounded by them either. 'Work smarter, not harder' was his second favorite saying, the first being 'Que sera sera' due to life experiences.

Everywhere Tachibana Hiro went, he easily attracted and got along with many people. After constantly being around others, he learned to read the intentions behind every word uttered and every action made by humans, especially when he witnessed the same people being friendly to him act differently behind his back. Becoming skeptical of people, it became a habit that lead to a career he never planned to pursue.

One day, he was out with some high school classmates at a billiards club when he called out a neighboring table for hustling an unsuspecting victim. The victim turned out to be an undercover cop and questioned how he knew the man was hustling. After pointing out the dubious mannerisms of the hustler, the undercover cop was impressed to offer him a job. With no big dream, Hiro thought why not.

It was three years into his career when he received a mission to accompany a criminal client to a trading meet-up. The agency was given a tip by an arrested drug addict that the meet-up will lead to the supplier. What Hiro encountered instead was an assassination. Their client instantly died by a bullet to the head, and Hiro was knocked unconscious and kidnapped to be taken for questioning.

When he had awoken with the back of his head immensely throbbing, he saw men dressed in black overcoats and fedora hats staring at him behind dark sunglasses. They didn't waste a second to question which organization he was working with, and after being beaten for keeping quiet, they forced him to take a drug and dumped his body into a nearby dumpster. He felt extremely hot with intense pain shooting throughout his body as if every single cell received 2000 volts of electricity. The next thing he knew, he woke up looking like his 10-year-old self.

Hiro struggled to find any leads to cure his situation. A close partner he worked with acted as his guardian, and Hiro was able to use the agency's resources for his research without too much difficulty; however, nothing was showing up. Years passed and Hiro almost gave up on finding a cure when news broke out world-wide that a famous high-school detective from Japan brought down a huge international criminal organization. Looking through published photos, Hiro recognized the men in the black overcoats and knew he needed to meet with this famous (former high-school) detective.

Eventually, his search for Japan's Holmes brought him to Beika High and there he met her, a face he had recognized from one of the photos with Kudo Shinichi in the articles he had read up about: Haibara Ai. Upon transferring to her class, he tried to get close to her in order to ask about the famous detective, but it proved difficult when he was bombarded by other students and found out that Haibara Ai wasn't exactly the warmest person as she had completely brushed him off the first time he tried to say hello. But that didn't stop him from observing her from afar.

He had asked other students about her and found that she was in a detective club (which surprised him and not surprised him at the same time), she was an adopted daughter of a scientist, and she was popular among the male student body like he had expected. The more he observed Haibara Ai, the more reasons for trying to befriend her grew as her mature aura greatly captivated him: her manner of speech, the way she walked, and how her smile always seemed to hold a bittersweet feeling as if she was hiding something.

Weeks later, Ai was scheduled to be on class duty for the week. The other student scheduled to be on duty had a part-time job and asked if anyone could cover him. Hiro immediately volunteered.

"I'll be filling in for Kitagawa-san," he had mentioned to Ai after school in case she fogot and realized she didn't really care as he watched her simply take a seat and opened the daily log to record the day's entry. He grabbed a nearby chair and sat in front of her. "I'm Tachibana Hiro," he introduced again and stuck out his hand.

Without looking up, she said, "I know," before going back to jotting down notes into the logbook. He quirked a brow at her curt response and smiled, rather intrigued. He retracted his ignored hand and crossed his arms.

"Schools in Japan are quite different," he said observingly, watching her write the day's events and briefly questioned the purpose of the whole thing. Hiro softly scoffed at the fact that his attempt at starting a conversation was ignored. By stating how different Japan was, he thought Ai would question how schools in England were, but he was met with silence instead. In fact, Ai hadn't said a word until she was done writing.

"Good work today," she bid standardly before exiting the classroom with Hiro sighing dejectedly after the door slid close behind her. It's alright, he thought. He had five more days of class duties.

The next day was just as silent as the previous and so was the day after that. Whenever he asked a question, she would always answer in a word or two. It wasn't until the fourth day of class duties that he finally asked, "Did I do something to offend you?" Maybe asking such a straightforward question would at least elicit more of a response from her.

"No, why?" she replied as she was writing in the logbook. Two words again, he thought in slight annoyance.

"Well, you're not exactly responding to my statements," he responded, leaning on the desk in front of her.

She briefly stopped writing to regard him. "Were you looking for a conversation?"

Hiro furrowed his brows at her response. There was no way she didn't know what he was trying to do. He would comment about random things and ask questions he already knew the answers to. From his observation since he arrived, Haibara Ai was no dunce in the social cues department, but before he could say anything in return, the classroom door opened.

The two students on class duty turned their heads at the interruption and saw two females at the door. The first girl who had opened the door looked as if she wanted something and the second girl behind her looked quite shy and nervous.

"Um, Hiro-kun, if you have time, could we talk to you?" the first girl questioned.

Hiro knew what they wanted. It was the third time to have someone come to the classroom and ask to speak to him that day alone. "Sorry," he apologized. "As you can see, I'm quite busy filling out the logbook with Ai-chan."

"It's o-," Ai started to say until Hiro grabbed her hand while continuing to smile at the girls at the door. It wasn't until the girls left that he removed his hand from hers and apologized for grabbing it.

"Sorry, I just didn't want you to finish that sentence," he said sincerely and noticed Ai unconsciously move her hand to her lap, and he internally scolded himself for making a teenage girl feel uncomfortable. Before any more awkwardness can fill the air, he immediately added with playful narcissism, "Lately, it seems like I'm being requested to go to some part of the school."

Ai arched a brow at his conceited remark and said, "Anyone who transferred in the middle of the semester with superior facial and physical attributes would gain the attention of those around him." She then resumed writing as usual.

Hiro fell quiet as he realized that was the longest sentence she had ever said to him. It also alluded to the fact that somewhere in that sentence Ai thought he was attractive. For some reason, compared to everyone else in the school and despite knowing she was younger than him, Hiro found himself wanting only Ai's attention. The more he was around her, the more he wanted her to react to him. He then leaned down to get a better look at Ai's face before saying, "I didn't get yours," causing Ai to pause in the middle of writing.

She lifted her eyes to look at him, expecting him to smirk haughtily as usual but, just as his reply was unexpected, so was the expression he had as he looked directly back at her. With the sun slowly setting in the background, casting a deep orange glow to the classroom, and the sound of a bat colliding with a baseball heard from nearby baseball field, he held her gaze. And after five silent seconds, he watched her scoot her seat back, grab her bag, and walk out of the classroom, leaving him behind with a half-written log entry.

With a small quirk of the lips, he grabbed the discarded pencil and finished the entry with a single sentence: Tachibana Hiro finally gained Haibara Ai's attention.

She erased it the following day; however, she couldn't erase its truth. He confirmed it when she left the clubroom as soon as she saw him, a sign that she was fully aware of him.

"Let's play a game, Ai," he said a couple of weeks later after officially joining the detective club much to Ai's chagrin. It was just him and Ai in the clubroom as the other members were at their other clubs. The strawberry-blonde member lifted her eyes from her book to acknowledge him momentarily. "A simple game of war with an added twist of truth or dare," he said, picking up the plastic deck of cards Genta had placed on the bookshelf after playing a game of poker with Mitsuhiko the previous day.

"Don't want to," she rejected and went back to her book.

He expected that. Despite allowing him in the club, she was still rather apprehensive of his presence. Maybe because of that, he developed a hobby of riling her up. "Aww, come on," he pleaded playfully, joining her on the worn-out sofa.

"I have no reason to play," she replied, readjusting herself comfortably after being shifted from his added weight.

He quirked a brow as a sudden thought came to him. "Not even wanting to know the true reason I applied to the club?" He grinned internally when Ai broke attention from her book to look at him again. He was becoming a pro at reading her. "Every time you get a higher card, you can ask me anything you want or make me do anything," and then he added, knowing she'll definitely play, "even have me quit the club and never bother you again."

Ai was quiet as she looked at him contemplatively. "You won't even choose dare," she spoke in suspicion.

"I promise you, I will," he vowed. "On the fifth time you draw a higher card, I will choose dare. I'll even give you an advantage, the highest card I can hold will be a 7." With stakes like that, there was no reason for her not to play. The odds were stacked against him. Despite knowing that, he added confidently, "But by the time I choose dare, you won't ask me to leave."

He smiled victoriously when Ai placed her book down. "Okay," she agreed.

The two club members moved to the table. After separating the cards and shuffling each of their cut of the decks, they both drew their first card. Ai easily won with a jack of spades against Hiro's 4 of hearts.

Despite being the loser of the first round, Hiro grinned. "Truth," he spoke.

Ai looked at him in the eyes and asked, "Why did you want to join the detective club?"

"Oh? First question immediately?" he said, amusingly, but Ai said nothing and waited for his response. He chuckled lightheartedly and answered mischievously, "I'm looking for someone."

Although Ai wasn't smiling, Hiro watched her expression drop from his vague answer and almost laughed in entertainment. The Ice Doll of Beika High could be unexpectedly cute, he thought. He saw Ai's brow quirk, and if he could read her mind, he knew she was thinking 'Two can play at that game.'

Both individuals drew their next card. Ai won again with a king of diamonds against Hiro's 3 of hearts. Hiro waited for her question but knew what she would ask. "Who specifically are you looking for and why are you looking for that person?"

"Japan's Holmes. I wanted to interview him about one of his cases," he answered truthfully.

"Kudo-kun?" he heard her whisper to herself.

' _Kun?'_

He knew Ai knew Kudo Shinichi, but to refer to him as 'kun' instead of 'senpai' or 'onii-san' was rather odd. And her expression when he said his nickname was not what he anticipated at all. He expected a light surprise at the unexpected answer that he was looking for an alumni of Beika High, but Ai's expression was more of shock in a protective manner. The look Ai had told him that there better be a better reason than wanting to interview him, which made him curious to why Ai would hold such a look for indirectly mentioning Kudo Shinichi. In fact, he always wanted to know why she was there in the photo that was published about the takedown of the Black Organization, albeit she was only in the background.

"What case?" she asked, brows furrowed, but Hiro shook his head.

"You asked your question already. Next round."

Ai slightly huffed but flipped a card over, revealing a 5 of clubs. She glanced to Hiro's flipped card and saw a 6 of spades. Hiro grinned. "Truth," she chose as he had expected.

There were many questions he wanted to ask Ai, especially about her ties to Kudo Shinichi and the Black Organization, but what surprisingly came out of his mouth was, "Are you in a relationship?" He internally cursed himself as soon as the question left his lips. He was 28 for crying out loud! Why the hell was he asking a teenage girl if she was in a relationship? From the look on her face, he could tell his question was not what she thought he would ask, but she answered him nonetheless.

"No," was her answer, which admittedly made him smile in relief, and he immediately felt guilty for remotely feeling that way.

The two players flipped another card, and the winner of the fourth round was Ai with a 9 of hearts, making Hiro the loser with a 7 of clubs. Ai did not waste any second to ask, "What case did you want to ask him about?"

Hiro was somewhat surprised to see Ai very curious about why he wanted to contact Shinichi, but he knew it was more because of the other party rather than him personally. "The international criminal syndicate that he destroyed," he answered and saw Ai's brows furrow more in confused speculation. "I wanted to ask him some things about them."

Ai was about to open her mouth to ask another question but flipped another card over instead and won with a ten of hearts against a 4 of clubs. "It was a pretty big case. You could easily look up the information online." It wasn't exactly a question, but he knew her intent in saying those statements.

"I read all articles and watched all the interviews related to that case. What I want to know wasn't answered." He could see her mind working, trying to figure out what he really wanted. Maybe she was more involved than he initially thought she was. She seemed to be too concerned about why he wanted to see Kudo Shinichi. In fact, she didn't hesitate to flip another card over, moving the game along. However, Hiro won with a 2 of diamonds against her ace of spades.

"Truth," she chose once again.

After his first question, Hiro thought he should keep the questions on the main topic and avoid breaking any law of showing interest in a minor even though he could argue that he was a teenager himself. But as he thought about what question to ask, he kept recalling Ai referring to the famous detective with an honorific that wasn't suitable to her age. He always thought she had a maturity that wasn't found in other students. Maybe it was wishful thinking somewhere within him, but after waking up as a ten-year-old again, anything was possible. After all, she seemed to be connected to his targets of questioning. With all that in mind, he decided to test the waters. "When were you born?"

That question ultimately answered everything Ai wanted to ask. He could have simply asked what her age was, but he decided to ask her birthdate instead. She answered him, purposefully leaving out the year.

For the first time since they started this game, Hiro's heart beat increased with unexpected hoping. He flipped over another card and lost to Ai's queen of spades with a 7 of spades. "Dare," he said as promised and waited patiently for her to speak.

He could see her contemplating what to dare him to do after knowing his story. It wasn't until a whole minute later that she finally spoke. "Don't ever call me Ai-chan again."

He smiled knowingly and tipped his head to her in elated defeat, "As you wish."

After that day, Ai no longer held a barrier around him, and he no longer felt guilty for flirting with her. After telling Ai how he had shrunk to his ten-year-old self, Ai revealed that she was the creator of the drug and offered to create an antidote for him. Thus, he was constantly over at the professor's house and over time got to know more about Ai and her past as he revealed his to her. However, he realized that whenever the topic would head to talk about Kudo Shinichi, Ai would deliberately be vague about her answers and change the topic, and he would never question why. Haibara Ai wasn't as secretive as she would like to be.

When Ai finally gave him the pill to reverse the effects of the APTX-4869, Hiro placed the pill in his pocket and asked what was for dinner. She never asked him why he didn't want to take the pill after searching for years on how to find a cure. Instead, she suddenly kissed him when they were washing dishes after eating dinner. Pleasantly surprised that she made the first move, he snaked a soapy hand around her waist and pulled her body flushed towards him to kiss her deeply, stating he's been wanting to do that for a long time now.

"I know," was all she said before grabbing his collar and pulling him down to kiss him again.

He was at her house every day since then unless he had soccer practice. They never explicitly stated what their relationship was. They kissed, but they never held hands or hugged in public or in private. It hasn't been a year since they knew each other, but they developed a unique trust within one another.

And then Kudo Shinichi returned to Japan.

"He couldn't stop looking at you," Hiro had said in the clubroom the day after they all had dinner together. Ai was laying on the sofa as usual, reading a fashion magazine. He knew she heard him, but as usual, she remained silent whenever Kudo Shinichi was the subject of conversation. He moved to join her on the sofa, gently lifting her legs before sitting himself down and placing her slender legs on his lap.

"How long has it been since you last saw each other?" he asked as he caressed her smooth legs, his hand slowly sliding up her leg, behind her knee, and to her outer thigh. He stopped when he saw Ai drop the magazine to the floor and place an arm over her eyes as she fought off the color to her face, and Hiro immediately knew that the blush on her cheeks wasn't due to him touching her but the memories she was recalling from the previous day.

"Kiss me," she whispered, and he willingly and painfully obliged.

Since Shinichi's return, Ai was oddly more vocal in requesting he touch and kiss her. It used to be strictly behind close doors, but the time and place slowly didn't matter anymore. The more she asked him to kiss her regardless of the public, the more he knew Kudo Shinichi was plaguing her mind… and heart.

He was currently waiting patiently for Ai outside the infirmary. At first he could barely hear their conversation, but after a minute of silence, Hiro had a sudden foreboding feeling. He immediately opened the door. As if brought back to their senses, he saw Ai and Shinichi immediately separate.

"Ai, we need to close the scavenger hunt," Hiro said calmly, leaning on the doorway.

Afraid that her voice had betrayed her earlier, Ai simply nodded her head, and Shinichi watched her exit the infirmary with Hiro.

Hiro followed Ai, observing her from behind. She hadn't said a word nor looked at him since they left the infirmary. When then got to an empty stairway, Hiro pulled Ai to a stop and turned her to face him, her face expressionless.

"He finally confessed, didn't he?" he questioned, knowingly.

Only then did her expression falter as she slowly nodded her head. Looking as if she wanted to cry in self-frustration, Hiro pulled her into a hug for the first time. Burying her face in his chest, she hugged him back, cursing Shinichi in her thoughts.


	7. Chapter 7

Since returning to Japan, Shinichi felt like he's been playing a constant game of avoid or be avoided with the girl next door, albeit to her defense, she was a player against her will. After admitting his attraction to his neighbor two weeks ago, he hasn't spoken a word nor seen the pseudo-teenager. He expected their game of avoidance to continue for at least a month, if not longer, so he was mildly surprised to see Ai at his doorstep on a Saturday morning. Just by the sight of her through the intercom, he felt the blood rushing within him, although if it was in irritation, attraction, or guilt, he didn't know.

He opened the door and immediately noticed her attire, consisting of a white t-shirt tucked into jean shorts that were secured with a leather belt, which she wore underneath a burgundy oversized windbreaker. To complete her look and confirming Shinichi's deduction that the Detective Club was going on their bi-monthly camping trip, she wore her hair in a high ponytail and covered her feet with hiking boots that accentuated her long shapely legs. Shinichi momentarily noted that the latter part of that observation was unnecessary.

When his eyes finally met hers, he saw her looking back at him with her infamous blank expression and briefly wondered if she decided to pretend that his verbal spillage in the high school infirmary didn't happen. "Good morning, Kudo," she greeted, and he felt a quick, sharp jab to his chest at hearing her return to calling him by his last name, and basing off her detached tone and rigid body language, he knew that being on his doorstep was not of her choosing.

"Good morning, Ai," he returned just as impersonal. "Need something from me?"

She nodded once, "A ride."

He briefly glanced at his neighbor's house to see the driveway empty. "Got left behind?" he questioned, his eyes returning to her.

"You declined Ayumi-chan's invitation without a reason," she supplied, and it oddly explained why she was left behind as Shinichi was able to infer that, with Ai left behind and requesting a ride from him, he would be forced to join their camping trip.

"I remember telling her I was preoccupied," he responded, turning his head away from her scrutiny.

She deadpanned at his response and arched a brow as if he should've known better. "'Saturday chores' does not cut the validity of reasons to a _teenager_."

Not knowing how to reply to Ai without referencing two weeks ago, Shinichi instead looked back at her and asked, "Can't you get your boyfriend to pick you up?"

"A motorbike isn't an ideal vehicle for overnight outdoor activities," she replied looking away from his eyesight before continuing, "and he left with the others."

Shinichi had half the mind to tell her to take a cab, but after a couple of seconds of a silent internal debate, weighing the pros and cons of joining his neighbor and friends, Shinichi opened the door wider for Ai to wait inside. "Give me a sec." After all, Ayumi and the boys went as far as to leave Ai of all people behind to get him to go. But even more than that, Ai, herself, continued with the plan by ringing his doorbell.

The car ride started off quiet and continued to hold its quiet tension well throughout the ride, their destination hours away outside of Tokyo. Shinichi kept his attention on the road, occasionally glancing to his passenger to see Ai not once break her sight from the passing scenery. It wasn't until they exited the city when Shinichi spoke, interrupting the quiet humming noise of the ride, "We're going to have to stop by for gas soon." His statement was met with the simple sound of her breathing. He turned on the radio, letting the music and radio host drown out the silence between them.

About thirty minutes later, Shinichi pulled up to a rest stop. "Want anything?" he asked his passenger as he shifted the gear to park and turned off the vehicle.

"Just the restroom," she answered and alighted from the vehicle, leaving him behind.

Sighing, Shinichi alighted after her and proceeded towards the store. Never had he felt so much tension being around Ai than now. He noticed they couldn't even look each other in the eye for more than a second, and Shinichi was at a loss of how to rectify it.

Grabbing a couple of drinks and snacks, Shinichi paid for the items and gas before exiting the store to see Ai waiting next to his vehicle. Thinking she was waiting for him to unlock the car, he pressed the button on his key, and the vehicle sounded, signaling it was unlocked. To his surprise, though, Ai didn't move. She remained silent with her hands in her jacket pockets and eyes casted downward, even as he opened his door to place the item of bought goods in the car before filling the gas tank. Shinichi couldn't help but think she perfectly played her role of a rebelling teenager. Only when he was about to return the pump did she say something.

"I know this is pretty late in asking, but did you not want to come?"

Shinichi turned to look at her over the car and was surprised to see her looking straight at him. She bit her lower lip in half anticipation and slight guilt at the possibility of forcing him. "If I didn't want to, you know I wouldn't." A couple of seconds passed, and he saw her nod her head in understanding.

"And just to correct you…," she spoke with his attention on returning the pump, "Hiro isn't—and was never—my boyfriend."

Shinichi immediately turned his head to look at her, surprised at the statement, but she entered the vehicle before he could catch her face. Just what expression did she hold while revealing that to him? Why did she? And why was his blood pumping? He wanted to immediately enter the car and start interrogating her, but the air between them was too sensitive that predicting her actions was almost impossible. Not wanting to upset her, he took a second to gather himself before opening the door and entering the driver's seat. Like before, she had her gaze trained outside her window.

Once they were on the road again and roughly twenty minutes into the ride, he lowered the stereo. "Yet you kiss him?"

"Yes," she easily answered, eyes still watching the trees coming and going.

"Why?"

"Why not?"

He gritted his teeth and her response. He had to remind himself that her relationships or whatever relations she has with people are none of his business. Releasing the tension in his jaw, he took in a breath. He did not want to propel their conversation into an argument. It took a lot of effort to keep the emotion from his voice. "Then why tell me that?"

There was a delay in her reply. "I don't know," she shrugged lightly. Shinichi lightly scoffed and decided that talking to the young scientist was too stress-inducing. He was about to raise the volume of the radio again, but she continued, "I just know that, despite revealing your physical attraction to me, you will not lay a hand on me… even if I told you I'm attracted to you as well." She whispered the last part, but he clearly heard it and it echoed in his head.

Shinichi was thankful that traffic outside the city, or any other vehicle for that matter, was currently nonexistent as he stepped on the brake in a surge of surprise and anger. His right arm extended outward to keep Ai from lurching forward. Immediately, he rounded on her. "What the hell are you doing to me, Ai?" No longer was he able to keep the anger from his voice.

"The same thing you did to me two weeks ago," she said, looking at him directly in the eyes. "Revealing the truth to you."

Seeing an approaching car through the rearview mirror, Shinichi pulled the vehicle over and turned the ignition off. "Why are you doing this?" he questioned. Did she not understand what he said two weeks ago? Did she forget everything that was said in the infirmary?

"To prove a point," she answered. Shinichi searched her eyes, as if he was trying to figure out the said point she was trying to make, but she helped his search by telling him instead. "You aren't attracted to me, Kudo."

The young detective furrowed his brows, not expecting that answer at all. "And what makes you say that?" If by a miracle what he's feeling inside by merely looking at the young woman beside him was nothing that he thought it was, then he could ask for nothing more.

"You said it yourself." As much as Shinichi loved mysteries and puzzles, he really disliked Ai's habit of speaking in riddles, especially when his emotions were too riled for his brain to think. "You said you couldn't stop thinking of me since the day you first saw me. Why?"

"Because you…" Shinichi recalled the memory of Ai kissing Hiro outside of the professor's house. The memory still bothering him as it did then.

"Because I what, Kudo?" Not wanting to even utter a word about that hateful image, he remained silent, so she prompted him. "You've seen me before as a teenager. What's different now?"

Shinichi looked at her seated in the passenger seat of his Bentley. The woman who was one year older than him but physically six years younger than him. He recalled the few times he met Miyano Shiho and compared her to the young woman before him. "Nothing is different," he whispered his answer. They were physically the same person. The only difference was the light in their eyes. Haibara Ai's were brighter than Miyano Shiho's.

 _Then why?_ He thought to himself. _Why did knowing Ai and Hiro have a physical relationship bother him so? Why did he have the urge to reach across and touch her? Why did he have thoughts of what it would be like to feel her lips upon his?_

Lost in thought, he didn't see Ai reach out her hand to cup his cheek. Only when he unconsciously leaned into her warmth did he register what he just did and instantly pulled away from her. He immediately saw the pained expression on her face at his reaction but was unable to say anything as he was still shocked at what he did.

"Hiro was persistent in joining the Detective Club," she started since he kept quiet. "He told me he came to Japan looking for you."

 _Me?_ Shinichi creased his brows.

She was quiet for a second or two before saying, "He was a former officer in a small city in England." Shinichi wasn't surprised at the statement, but he was half pleased and half pissed to know he was right about his notions of the bastard. He felt something swell in his chest at the underlying thought that he was the reason they met.

"He wanted a cure," he finished for her. Through his unfocused vision as his mind pieced together Ai's new facts, he saw her nod. "Did you give it to him?" He saw her nod again, which meant he didn't take it, and he could guess the reason why. Shinichi focused his vision on Ai and found himself disliking the bastard even more. "Why are you telling me this?"

Turning her head to look out the windshield and away from him, she said, "You saw him drop me home the first night you came back, didn't you?" His silence was her answer. "If he wasn't here, I doubt we'd be having this conversation right now."

He was utterly confused. "What are you getting at? That the only reason I'm attracted to you is because of him? That I'm jealous of him?"

"Not in the way that you think, Kudo," she immediately countered. She hesitated for a minute before saying, "I think that what you saw that night caused you to project your feelings for Mouri-san towards me."

Shinichi took in what she said, analyzing every nuance of every word in his head. "…What?"

"I overheard one of your conversations. I didn't mean to eavesdrop," she quickly added before tentatively continuing, "She's scared, isn't she—"

Shinichi quickly exited the vehicle, not wanting to hear more, and walked away, his mind overwhelmed with everything Ai was saying. He ran a hand through his hair, going over the notion she was insinuating. She basically said he was jealous of their physical relationship because he had none with Ran. He laughed at the absurdity, but the same laughter soon died out because somewhere in his mind, he knew Ai had a convincing argument.

If he did not witness Ai kissing Hiro that night, would he have been so hung up on her? He just agreed a few minutes ago that she was no different than seeing her years ago as a teenager. Did seeing her engaged in a physical intimacy with someone trigger him to want the same thing? And because it was her he had witnessed, he subconsciously decided he wanted it with her?

Shinichi shook his head, his brain hurting from going back and forth with his thoughts. Some part of him wanted to argue that Ai was wrong, that he wasn't jealous of her and Hiro because he didn't have what they had, but he couldn't bring forth the words to counter it. He then heard the car door open and close behind him.

"You don't want me, Kudo. You can't even touch me," she said as she walked towards him.

He turned around to see her stop a foot before him. "That's because…," he trailed off, his hands unconsciously fisting at their proximity.

"Because the only person inside your heart is Mouri-san," she finished, and his heart clenched at how effortlessly and woefully she said those string of words that held so much truth. And then to drive her point forward, she leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pushing herself on her toes.

He could smell the strawberry scent of her shampoo. He could feel the small puffs of her breath on his chin. He could feel the quick beating of her heart against his chest, his own heart beating just as rapidly. And once more, he could see the speck of turquois in her eyes. Through it all, Shinichi was surprised at how he automatically grabbed her upper arms, stilling her.

She laughed softly. "See? You can't go through it," she spoke, releasing her hold around him. She gave him a small smile before she turned away, walking back to the car.

Shinichi was completely bothered from head to toe. He knew Ai was helping him rationalize his feelings towards her, getting him to understand that he held no desire for her and therefore releasing him from the guilt he felt from being attracted to someone other than Ran. She was basically ridding the mental and emotional torment he felt for the last couple of months. He should be elated for what she was doing. But why _wasn't_ he?

Unable to answer that question himself, Shinichi followed suit and entered the vehicle. He stewed on his thoughts while Ai kept silent for the remainder of the ride to the designated camping grounds.

When they arrived, Shinichi ignored Hiro and how Ai was at his side almost every time he was around. According to Ai, he was just envious of their relationship, hence the hostile feelings towards the apparently older bastard. But despite Ai's rationale, he still didn't like seeing them, so he busied himself with Hakase and the others. He continued to do that throughout the entire camping trip and didn't speak to Ai unless he had to. Even when they went home the following day or throughout the following year for that matter.

Shinichi felt their conversation was incomplete, but he had no words to continue it. He just knew something was amiss. Every now and then, for the next year, Shinichi would go back to that conversation he had with Ai on the side of the road. He agonized over the lost words he needed to complete that conversation.

Eventually Ran finished her degree, and he briefly went back to America for her graduation and returned to Japan together. With Ran finally with him again, Shinichi was too busy to think about his neighbor, and the conversation he agonized over countless of times slowly receded to the back of his mind.

After being apart for a year, Shinichi and Ran were constantly together, and through more coaxing, reassurance, and long conversations, they finally concreted the physical part of their relationship. It was awkward, painful, yet loving, and he couldn't be happier with anyone other than Ran. The only thing that bothered him about his first time with Ran was that Ai had popped in his mind for a split second, recalling the last conversation they had.

Two months later, he finally conceded that Ai was right. Whatever feelings he felt for her a year and a half earlier was just a projection of his frustration about his relationship with Ran at the time. He always knew Ai had an uncanny power of reading him more than he could read himself. Whatever he thought was missing from their conversation was all in his head.

He decided he should thank her for helping him sort through his feelings. Because of her, the feeling of guilt he would have every time he saw Ran ceased to exist. So, when he was finally free from cases and Ran was busy with Sonoko, Shinichi thought to pay his neighbor a visit. The last time he stepped into his neighbor's house was the kids' high school graduation party four months ago. It was about time he said hi to his longtime friend as well.

As he strode to his neighbor's house, he noticed the car was missing from the driveway. Maybe someone was still home, he thought and was about to knock when he recalled Ai's words about the action and how he shouldn't feel the need to knock just because she resided there. Following her words, he lowered his hand and twisted the knob, finding the door unlocked.

"Hakase?" he called, closing the door behind him. He received no answer. "Ai?" he tried. Still no answer. He made his way deeper into the threshold and into the empty living room. Thinking that the professor might be downstairs, he made his way towards the basement door when he heard a faint sound of heavy breathing. He whipped his head towards the sound and noticed it coming from Ai's bedroom. Worried that she might be suffering a fever, he quickly made his way to her bedroom.

He knocked lightly. "Ai? You okay?" he called through the door. He received no answer. "Ai, I'm coming in," he said and twisted the doorknob. He saw her laying on her bed with her sheets tangled in her long, slender legs. As he got closer, Shinichi thought twice on his decision in coming into her room as he noticed her sleeping attire.

She wore a matching set of champagne colored silk top and shorts for pajamas. What caught his attention, though, was her top that was pushed upwards, revealing her taut stomach and the underside of her breasts. Shinichi couldn't help but blush at the exposure. He reached for the hem of her top to pull it down, but his blush only deepened when he noticed her nipples poking through the fabric, the silk material emphasizing its hardness. He unconsciously swallowed.

Her sudden intake of breath pulled his attention, and his eyes travelled upwards, wondering if she was feverish since her breathing was quite irregular. Looking closely, he noticed beads of sweat gathering at her temples. He used the back of his hand to check her temperature, and like he assumed, her forehead was quite hot.

"You're burning up, Ai," he whispered and removed his hand from her forehead only for her to catch it within hers, and he was surprised at how cold her hand was when her forehead was of the opposite temperature. "Ai?" he questioned, worried he woke her up, but her uneven breathing continued. Although asleep, she didn't let go of his hand. He tried tugging on it lightly, not wanting to jostle her awake, but she held firm. Sighing, he sat down on the edge of her bed and used his other hand to wipe the sweat she was accumulating on her forehead.

In the middle of his task, he almost didn't notice her eyes hazily open. "Hey," he whispered. "How are you feeling?" he asked, concerned.

She didn't respond. Through her half-hooded eyes, he could tell she was searching her surroundings, quite delirious. After a short while, she tried to push herself up, and he immediately helped her to sit upright. "You okay?"

She shook her head. "I'm hot," she whimpered annoyed. She tried to gather her hair but dropped her arms, too weak to lift them. She let out another whimper, frustrated at her lack of strength. She could barely keep her eyes open.

"Shh," Shinichi cooed. "I got you," he said, grabbing for a hair tie on her nightstand. He then reached behind her head, gathering her strawberry blonde locks and tying it into a messy bun.

She suddenly fell forward towards him, unable to keep herself upright. He caught her in his arms and was instantly reminded of their conversation that irritated him for a year.

" _You can't even touch me."_

"I'm so cold," she mumbled weakly against him, slightly shivering in his hold, and he automatically began to rub her arms up and down. Her breath felt hot as she breathed unevenly against his neck, sending unwarranted chills down his spine. Trying to ignore how her breathing affected him, he moved one hand to gently rub at her back, causing Ai to moan, finding his ministrations quite soothing. He slowed his actions at the unexpected sound she produced.

" _You aren't attracted to me."_

She whined, feeling him no longer rubbing her back. In response, she nuzzled herself into his warmth, trying to get close to his body heat, and he fought the automatic low rumbling in his chest as she pressed her body against his, feeling her breasts pushing against his chest. _She's delirious,_ he justified. _She doesn't know what she's doing._

" _You don't want me."_

When she nestled her face into the nook of his neck, he grabbed hold of her arms to push her away but stopped when he heard the small whimper of her voice say something that shook his nerves to the core.

"Shinichi."

How could the simple utterance of his name from her lips cause his blood to boil? If his heart was beating rapidly due to the situation he was in, it was now pounding against his ribcage. He clenched his jaw at the rush of emotions he felt and the recollection of memories that came forth from hearing her say his name.

Then, it dawned on him. He was finally aware of why Ai's rationality didn't sit well with him. He finally knew what was amiss in the conversation that nagged at him for over a year. He finally figured out what he was trying to find to counter Ai's argument.

Only Ai could produce the emotions he was currently feeling. Only Ai could evoke the feeling of lust and desire within him at the mere mention of his name.

She whimpered at the lack of heat and tried to lean towards him, to feel his body heat again. "Shinichi," she begged, and his heart raged at the sound. He wrapped his arms around her, indulging her plea and pulling her close. She hummed at the heat she felt.

There's no doubt about it. He wanted her. Even after a year, he wanted her. Even with Ran flashing though his mind, he wanted her.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you for all the reviews. Hope you are still enjoying the story.


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